


ArsonFell

by CrimDemon



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, ArsonFell, Auto Checkpoints, Fire, Multiple Voices, Murder, Murderously Protective, Other, Overprotective, Survival, Undertale Reset Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-07-15 11:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16062656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimDemon/pseuds/CrimDemon
Summary: In this UNDERGROUND, the Level of Violence is measured with a real physical element: fire. When someone in this universe gains LOVE, a patch of fire will appear on their body with each kill. The location of the fire will be determined by how they gained their LOVE and the amount of HP of who they killed. If someone were not to gain any LOVE, they will turn to ash between 2 months to 4 years. On the other hand, if someone were to gain too much LOVE, best case scenario would be most likely prone to setting things on fire without thinking. Worst case scenario: they will suffer combustion and will leave nothing but ash. The fire will grow or die down drastically depending on the two emotions; the fires on the person's body will flare up when angry, and die down when sad.One good thing about all this: LOVE will boost their immunity to being burned and ability to breath normally around smoke.   Whether human and monster, both are included in this scenario if they are within MT. Ebott.





	1. A Quick Goodbye

Mount Ebott seemed like a giant patch of fire in the darkness. It was so bright with some sort of light that some people had to wear sleeping masks when they went to bed. A mountain that everyone ignored the best they could, but still feared in the back of their minds. Sometimes, people would even mistake it for a volcano about to explode. But, nothing ever came out.

It was a place one particular teenager, Frisk, liked to visit, despite all of the warnings their elders gave them.

It was a place of quiet and solitude. It was a place that was free of the dangers and stresses of the days.  
  
On one certain day, they had been in a sour mood and decided to run away to Mount Ebott. The adults once again warned them and told them not to go. Frisk was fed up listening to them saying the same horror stories they told children who thought about going there. That anyone who climbs the mountain are never seen again. The human had been up there several times and had always came back. They shook their head to shake the thoughts away.   
  
And just like that, just because they didn’t watch where they were going, they didn’t notice a patch in the mountain that was starting to crumble. Just like that, they felt their feet sink into the ground. Before they knew it, they realized they were falling. Soon, it almost felt like they were falling for an eternity.   
  
Frisk didn’t land on their feet like they were hoping. They instead landed on their side, wincing as pain shot up through their arm and hip. They waited for more pain, but were surprised that only two spots hurt. The teenager looked down as their eyes stared at what looked like some flowers. Like a bed, just in a perfect spot. They stood up slowly and carefully to check their surroundings.   
  
It was cave-like, which they weren’t surprised about. What did surprise them was the lights in the cave walls. Thanks to them, the way wasn’t too dark. It was enough to see where they were going at least. Frisk’s head tilted up, but then lowered back down when there was only darkness in the direction they fell from. It was most likely nighttime. They shrugged and walked, seeing the opening in front of them was the only way forward.   
  
The teenager started to hear soft weeping coming from the room they were going into. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” It sounded like a woman. The human spoke out, speaking softly as to not scare who was crying. When Frisk approached the source of the sobbing, they finally saw the woman. She was sat on the floor, appearing to have a small fire on her left hand and on her left shoulder. Out of pure impulse from seeing the fire, Frisk patted at the places where they were. But, the fire didn’t even seem to move and it burnt their hand. The woman’s head finally shot up when Frisk touched them, jolting at the contact.   
  
Frisk’s first reaction when seeing what this woman was should have been panic and fear, but in place of that was concern. The monster paused at their reaction, confused even when they asked if she was alright. The woman's crying seemed to get worse when she saw Frisk.   
  
Frisk panicked and tried their best to comfort the monster. They were worried if they had somehow scared her, apologizing repeatedly. She shook her head and inhaled sharply, trying her best to regain her composure. “No, I’m sorry for this display,” the monster said. She stood up and brushed off her dress of any dirt that might have collected. “Did… you just fall in here, young one?” she asked them, wiping her eyes with the cloth of her sleeve. Frisk nodded and the monster sighed sadly.

“I wish you hadn’t, then,” she whispered. “You should have just broken your neck when you fell…” The human asked what she said, but the monster told them it was nothing.  
  
The monster glanced towards the opening to the next area, then towards Frisk’s hand. She looked back up at them and smiled slightly. “Your hand looks bad. Come. I’ll show you to my home and I’ll see what I can do for it.” The woman turned from them and started to walk as the human walked behind her. A stranger she may be, they couldn’t just turn down someone helping them.   
  
The goat woman walked with Frisk through what she called the RUINS. The Ruins were foggy and piles of ash polluted the area. The human asked why there was so much ash, but she only said, “...The poor things never had a chance.” Frisk was confused by her words, but they continued to follow the monster.   
  
When they finally came to the monster's house, some of bricks seemed loose and parts of the home seemed burnt. Other than that, it looked cozy enough to stay in. The monster walked inside, turning to Frisk when they didn't follow. “It’s alright, human. Come in.” Frisk reluctantly complied, passing by a moving black star. They started to glance around the house as they go in.   
  
The home was dark inside. The only source of light were small candles on the walls, and the fire that she had on her. When the human asked about the fire, the woman only said it was normal down there. “Are you hun- Oh goodness, I almost forgot.” She held out her hand for the teenager to take. “Here. Put your hand in mine.” Frisk did as they were told, placing their hand carefully on the goat monster’s. At first nothing seemed to happen, but slowly pain they had felt earlier was going away. Even the burn on their hand was disappearing.   
  
The human’s eyes widened at that and moved their hand close to their face when the monster was done. She chuckled at their face of awe and curiosity. “Even with my age, I guess the healing magic still works.”

The original thought in popped into her head, turning her body to her right. “If you’re hungry, I made some pie this morning. You’re welcome to have some,” the monster told them as she smiled. Frisk nodded quickly, since they were sure they had missed dinner. The monster smiled once again and walked off, but stopping and looking over her shoulder at them. “If you also need to rest, the first door down that hall has a bed you can sleep on.” She then left Frisk alone to retrieve a piece of pie for them.  
  
Frisk moved after another glance around the entry area. It looked like basement stairs in front of them, a coat rack by the door, and a lightly faded ‘welcome home’ doormat. It was a nice home. Nicer than any they have seen on the surface.

They slowly walked to the door in question and opened it, ready to head inside. Before they do, they stopped. The room was a disaster. It looked like it was destroyed by an animal, then hit by a tornado. Marks were all over the walls, clothes scattered all over the floor, and there was a closet with a broken hinge that caused it to be partly open.  
  
This scared Frisk, more than seeing an actual monster. They ran from the room just as the goat woman was returning with not a piece of pie. What was in her hand was a cutting knife from the kitchen, clean and unused. “Young one, where are you running off to?” she asked, moving towards them. Panic-stricken, Frisk ran from the monster and darted down what they presumed was the basement stairs in the entrance area. But, they soon realized that it wasn't a basement.   
  
To Frisk, it looked like a series of tunnels. “Don’t go down there. Stay up here with me, human.” They gasped as they heard the monster woman calling for them in the distance. They started to run faster as they ran into one of the middle tunnels, not caring that the tunnel was getting darker and darker with each step.   
  
It felt like an eternity running. The human even wondered if they got turned around a few times, or if the tunnel was actually long. Frisk soon ran into a dead end. They turned to go back down to a different path, but halted in their step. A ball of light as well as two other lights appeared down the tunnel, where the human just came from. Frisk backed up to the wall and held their breath, hoping the lights wouldn't continue down the path. To Frisk's horror, the lights became brighter.   
  
The monster woman slowly walked towards Frisk, a fire ball hovering over her hand with an almost saddening smile on her face. She stopped as the light of the fire illuminated what was seen as not a dead end, but a door. “Human, I will forgive you for running from me if you go back now.” The monster continued to smile, starting to extend her free hand. She stopped as she saw the door in the corner of her eye. She gazed up at it and the insignia, quieting down for a brief moment.

Another silent thought struck her, one that made her ache on the inside. Her smile faded as she glanced down at Frisk once more. “Young one… Forgive me for what I’m about to do,” she said softly.

The goat monster sighed and the fire in her hand glowed brighter. Frisk also noticed that the spots of fire on the monster were dim. However they didn’t notice that a small red heart was starting to form in front of them. “I was hoping that no more of you would come down here. And seeing you look just like…” Her words trailed off as she looked away, then back to the human.  “...I’m… I’m tired of this. I’m tired of seeing young humans drop down here, just for my husba-- for them to go away.”  
  
The look on the monster’s face was heartbreaking and her words were starting to tug at the human’s heart. They opened their mouth to speak, but she cut them off before they could. “Dear one, you should not be here any longer, or I might do something despicable.” Frisk just met her, but they could tell she was frantic. “Human, might I ask one thing of you before this door opens?” the monster woman asked. The human asked what she wanted and she went silent. After a moment, she finally said, "Peace.”   
  
The goat woman handed Frisk the knife that was still in her hand, her smile returning. “Take this and turn me to dust.” The human’s eyes widened at the request. They asked her why and got a very cold response. “Because I’m tired… and the only way you’re guaranteed to go without…” she trailed off again, finding the words difficult. “...Please just do it, for both of our sakes.”

The teenager tried to refuse the knife. “If you don’t go, I’ll make sure to break your legs beyond repair so can’t leave me.” Even with that threat,  Frisk continued to refuse. Then, the woman started to conjure several fireballs, the fire on her body fluctuating.  
  
The monster threw a few of the fireballs at Frisk, hitting them two times. It hurt and it burned, but they still didn’t want to do she wanted. Fireballs continued to fly at Frisk until they were at 1 HP. She paused to see what Frisk would do. “Young one, please… just hit me…” the goat woman whispered, her body trembling lightly. She wanted them to fight back. She was doing her best to give them a reason to fight her. If just saving this one child would help her mentally, she would give them her life.

“Here, I’ll even make this easy for you.” The fireballs stopped going for Frisk, and instead changed direction so they flew towards the goat monster.  
  
The fireballs started hitting the woman, the flames moving towards her like metal beads would a magnet. They stopped once her HP was low enough for Frisk to end her life in one hit. She gave a shocked Frisk one last chance to end her life peacefully as she moved close to them. The human hesitated, not knowing what to do or what to say. After a long moment, she frowned. “Well… fine,” she sighed again, hurling a fake attack at Frisk.

Seeing how much in emotional pain she was in and seeing another attempt at hurting them, Frisk instinctively slashed the knife across the monster's stomach. After a mere moment, realization at what they just did hit them hard. ‘Why did I…?’ Tears immediately started to stream down their face as they dropped the knife, the small heart quickly disappearing.  
  
The goat monster smiled at Frisk, patting their head softly. “It’s alright, human,” she whispered to them. “I wanted this, I promise.” She knelt down and picked the knife up, handing it back to the human. “Keep this, alright? You should be safe when you’re out there.” Frisk was reluctant in taking the knife back, but they took it anyway as they stored it into an inside pocket of their jacket.

She smiled at the response. “Thank you, dear one…” the monster whispered as she gave them a tired hug, her body soon disappearing into a cloud of dust and ash.  
  
Frisk stayed there for several long moments, still in shock of what just happened. They wished for the goat monster to return, but they soon realized their wish was in vain. They wiped their eyes and slowly stood up. They still weren’t sure why the monster was so adamant to… make them do that. _‘Couldn’t there have been another way to help?’_ they thought to themselves. Their thoughts were like this when they turned back to the door and opened it. _‘I can do better… I can…’_

They didn't even realize that a small patch of fire was starting to form on their back, just under their left shoulder blade as they walked out of the Ruins door. It was a dim fire, but it was slowly starting to radiate heat.


	2. An Unusual Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for future reference, for both myself and for fellow readers: Frisk's thoughts will be italicized and Sans' thoughts will be bold and italicized.

When Frisk walked out of the Ruins door, it was cold. The temperature dropped down so low compared to the other area. The chill was even seeping through their jacket as a breeze blew by. The sudden cold wind made their eyes water a little. The ground was covered in white, or a shade of white. It was a little brighter than it was in the Ruins, as well. _‘Strange…’_ they thought, staring intently at the ground. The snow seemed a bit odd when they got a better view of it, but they ignored it as they turned back to the Ruins. The human closed the door, wiping their eyes again with their sleeves.

They turned once again and their boots crunched in the snow as they walked forward.

Dead trees lined at the each sides of the path as Frisk soon noticed a figure some feet off when they approached a clearing. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the figure move, softly gulping as they kept walking. They decided to stand their ground, remembering one of the adults saying that it was the best approach when dealing with a stranger.

The human put on their best stone face as they proceeded forward. As they got closer to it, the figure shifted as a pair of eyes looked over towards the fallen human.

It spooked them just a little, but they didn’t want to show it. The figure grunted and muttered to itself as it turned its head back to where it was looking. Confused and morbidly curious, Frisk walked closer to the figure.

"Excuse me" was all that Frisk said before the figure stood up and walked away from them. The human tilted their head in a confused way, quickly following behind the figure in hopes to be pointed in the right direction. Frisk finally got close enough to see what they were following, but in doing so, they knew they were in harm’s way if this person decided to do anything.

The person halted and turned their head, a strong glare following as a low voice spoke. "don't you know when someone wants to be left a-BONE, human?" the person huffed and turned their head back towards the front, continuing to walk away. “just leave.” The teenager opened their mouth to say something else, but decided against it at the last moment.

_‘He doesn’t seem to want to talk…’_

Frisk frowned and apologized as they turned to the direction the person was near. They saw a bridge made of stone, very sturdy-looking at the angle they were looking at. Their eyes scanned it for a moment. Their legs seemed to move on their own as they walked towards it. Before they realized it, they were already at the edge near the bridge.

Frisk looked over the ledge, seeing nothing but black to meet them if they fell. They took a deep breath and slowly started to walk across the bridge. For a moment everything was fine, but then sure enough the bridge made a soft crack sound. The sound made the figure pause in place as it looked over its shoulder at Frisk again. The figure growled softly and marched towards the bridge. “what hell are you doing? get off of that!” the being yelled as it stood at the ledge. Frisk didn't do so, and was now shuffling across the stone bridge.

They hoped that, if they were more careful and slower, the stone would be able to hold them.

When Frisk got halfway across the bridge, louder cracking was heard. Frisk stopped immediately, but large cracks were already starting to form along the sides of the stone platform. The human heard the figure say "damn idiot" as the red heart from before appeared in the middle of their chest once again, but this time there was a little fire on the back of it. It soon turned blue interlaced with red as it felt like something was holding their heart. It was a soft pressure, like someone was someone was leaning against their chest a little.

Soon, they felt their feet lift up from the ground, just in time before the stone bridge collapsed and fell into the black void below.

Frisk was then flung past the large gap in the earth and landed on their stomach. They heard something say along the lines of "you're welcome, human", and Frisk replied a quiet, “Thank you”. The human sat up and glanced down at the heart, wondering what it was. The heart disappeared as quickly as it appeared, though, so they didn’t have a chance to get a better look at it.

Frisk then slowly pushed themselves up to their feet and stared in the direction the figure was located. They were trying to see if they could spot them to thank them properly. But, they weren’t anywhere within their line of vision. It was like the being wasn’t there to begin with. _‘Where did they go?’_ they wondered, their eyes darting around the area in question. They soon got scared by a sudden voice to the right of them. “hey. are you really a human?”

Frisk jumped at the suddenness, holding their hand to their chest. Their heart and SOUL thumped in fast pace as they took a deep breath to calm themselves down. They told the voice to not do that, but the figure asked its question again. The human sighed and nodded after the second time being asked, glancing over to where the voice was. They were not expecting what they saw.

A pair of empty eye sockets with blood red lights where his pupils should be stared at Frisk, along with red fire in the right eye socket. _‘Pale white... A bony structure... A skeleton?’_ Frisk thought as they stared back at those red eyes. They were almost afraid to look away, too afraid to have a look-over to make sure it really was a skeleton they were talking to. Yet those eyes were mesmerizing to look at. They thought if they stared long enough, their vision might become as red as those eyes.

The skeleton looked away and crossed his arms, appearing to go into thought. He lightly tapped one of this finger bones on his jacket as he continued to ponder about something. Frisk took this opportunity to completely look at the skeleton.

They saw that he was wearing a black hoodie, a red scarf, black and yellow shorts, and... Frisk's eyes stopped before they went to his black and red slippers. They saw a few patches of fire along the skeleton's body. More fire than the goat monster. They narrowed their eyes slightly, frowning at the fire. _‘What’s with all the fire on the monsters?’_

The skeleton noticed that the human went quiet and was now looking at him with prying eyes. “what are you looking at, perv?” the skeleton asked and made a up and down motion with his index finger bone, stopping it at his left eye hole. “my eye sockets are up here.” Frisk blinked a couple of times, as if processing what he just said. But, then they giggled softly. This made him blush with both embarrassment and frustration.

The first laugh he’s heard in years.

From that.

The skeleton was debating on whether to fling the human back to the other side of the cliff or not. He pressed his left hand to his skull for a moment, huffing softly. He stayed like that, until a soft voice asked him what his name was. The skeleton moved his hand and pushed it into his empty jacket pocket. “hold your horses, kid,” he said. “it’s rude to not introduce yourself first. first your name, or i won’t tell you mine.”

Frisk told the skeleton their name. The skeleton started to burst into low chuckles, “that’s your name? weird…” The human pouted at the reaction. “come on, stop with the pouty face,” he said in between a couple more chuckles. “ i’ll tell ya my name if you quit.” Frisk stopped pouting as it turned into a soft smile, feeling just a little accomplished. But, they also felt bad in the back of their mind that they never got to know the goat monster's name. They’d rather not call her goat or something vague. But, they guessed it was too late now to think about it.

The skeleton blushed again, this time at the smile, and sighed as he muttered something under his breath. He inhaled sharply before he spoke.

“hey, name’s sans,” he started. “sans the skeleton.” Sans pulled out his left hand from his pocket and held it out for a handshake. Frisk started to reach out for his hand, but something shiny coming from it caught their eye. It was almost hard to spot, but they saw something sharp strapped to Sans' hand. It looked like a tack or a needle of some kind.

Frisk looked back up at Sans and told him that they could not shake his hand. “huh? why not?” Frisk pointed to the skeleton's hand, in which a nervous smile spreads across his skull. “oh, uhhh… right.” He appeared to be sweating a little. “forgot to take that off,” he laughed quietly as he pushed his hand back into his pocket.

“sooo… what brings you down here in hell, kid?” the skeleton asked as he leaned close to the human. “were you just DYING to be down here or something?” It was a question that was met with silence.

Sans glanced at the shape of the human, seeming surprised they haven't died already. They didn’t appear to have a visible weapon and they seemed to have no fi- He finally noticed the small fire flickering behind the human’s shoulder and the one on Frisk’s SOUL. ** _‘they gained some LV, too, huh?’_** The skeleton shrugged to himself and waited for the human to answer. “well…?” 

Frisk didn’t want to tell him everything.

They just told him that they had fallen down into the mountain some hours ago and came out of the Ruins door moments before meeting him. “huh… any ghosts in there when you fell?” Sans asked, his interest slightly piqued. Frisk tilted their head and asked what he meant. The skeleton glanced towards the Ruins door's direction and replied with, "i heard the place was haunted, so just thought i’d ask."

Frisk shook their head and Sans shrugged at the human's answer, disappointment in his eye sockets.

He turned from the Ruins door to face the human again. “well, i’m going to guess what you’re doing now… you’re wanting a way out?” he asked slowly. Frisk nodded and Sans smiled wide. Of course the human wanted to leave. That’s what all of them wanted, right? “i think i know a person who could help.”

Frisk’s head perked up at the statement. “i’d be happy to show you the way, but first i’m dropping by town up ahead.” Sans raised his hand and pointed behind him with his thumb. “we could stop there, get something to eat, get snacks…” he said with a wide grin. “it’s a trek to get to that person’s home, ya know?” Frisk hesitated at the suggestion, but Sans insisted. “it’s fine. there’s even a place that’s warm so we can sit cozy while we eat. don’t give me the COLD shoulder now.”

Frisk inwardly laughed at the pun as they huffed, and then they finally nodded at the suggestion after a moment. They didn't have much to lose, and they were hungry anyway. But, they’d go on one condition as they remembered something.

The human quickly asked Sans a question that they themselves found odd, but maybe he could tell them what it was. They asked what the heart they saw earlier was. They were sure they had never seen anything like it before. And from what they could tell, it only appeared when a monster was around. The skeleton’s expression changed to what Frisk felt: confusion. But then it returned to a wide smile.

“kid, you didn’t know?” Sans asked as he narrowed his eye sockets. “that’s your SOUL, or in simple terms, you without your body.”

It was an odd answer for an odd question, but they felt satisfied with it.

They DID ask.

Then something Sans said made them glance over at him. “couldn’t help but notice you were wanting to look at it…” he whispered as he rubbed the back of skull. _‘How did he-’_ “want to know how to see it?” Frisk’s eyes widened at the question as they moved their head up and down rapidly. “heh... calm down or your head might pop off,” he told the human, making his hand a fist and then holding it to the middle of his rib cage. “just do this, and make sure to open up your hand.”

After saying that, Sans opened up his fist as a gray upside down heart appeared in his palm. He laughed softly and watched the human closely to study their reaction. He was… happy to see Frisk’s eyes widen, watching in awe as fires that surrounded his SOUL danced within their curious eyes. But, as soon as they reached out on impulse to try and touch Sans’ SOUL, he closed his hand to make it disappear from sight. “so-sorry, kid,” he stuttered and blushed as he nervously grinned at Frisk. “no touching allowed.”

Frisk gave the skeleton a puzzled look, but he just shrugged at them. They frowned and sighed as they looked down. They mimicked how Sans took out his SOUL, gasping with surprise as theirs appeared with ease. Red as a rose and blood. A color that matched the skeleton's eyes and scarf. The human stared at it with so much interest that Sans couldn’t help but watch the human’s eyes once more. **_‘heh, so easily impressed,’_** he thought as he was starting to lean forward towards the human’s SOUL.

His mind clicked quickly as he found himself inches from the distracted human. He felt his cheekbones were becoming warm and were reddening more while he was watching. Sans quickly straightened up, turning his skull to the right. He decided to pull up the scarf over his nasal, hoping to keep it there until his face stopped with the color. "ju-just be s-sure you don't have it out with monsters around," he forced out of his through shy stuttering before he held his breath to regain some composure. Then, he slowly let it out.

After another few seconds of staring at their SOUL, they closed their hand just like the skeleton did as the heart vanished from sight. They were still amazed about the whole SOUL thing that they thought about doing it again. But, the suggestion that Sans made popped back into their head. _‘I asked what I needed to, so I’ll go with him now,’_ they thought to themselves. _‘What was the real harm in that?’_ Sans grinned wide again behind the cloth and moved beside Frisk as the scarf dropped from his skull. The red was still there, but at least it wasn’t too noticeable. He grabbed their wrist with his bony hand and started walking, keeping a grip both loose enough to not hurt them and firm enough to keep them from escaping him. "then, to grillby's for grub."

Sans lightly pulled them along with him before he looked over his shoulder at Frisk. "one more thing before we get there. whatever you do..." Sans suddenly gave Frisk a serious, scary look. It did not seem to match his previous demeanor. "if grillby offers you a snow cone, don't eat it."


	3. Hungry Flames, Hungry SOUL

Frisk and Sans had walked quite a bit as the human held their stomach. To them, it sounded like their stomach was yelling at them, demanding to be fed. _‘How did it get that bad already?’_ the human wondered as they grabbed a bunch of their shirt, clenching their hand into a fist against the fabric.

Sans scoffed at this, "you humans and your needy insides." He pressed his hands on his jacket in a few places, patting softly on it. The skeleton's hand pressed against one particular spot on his left jacket pocket as he reached for what he found. "here."

Sans snorted to himself as he handed Frisk a half eaten hot cat. “sorry about that,” he said with a wide grin. “that’s all i got.” Frisk flashed Sans a sour face as they took the hot cat. They didn’t like the idea that it was in the skeleton’s pocket, but… The skeleton watched as they took a bite out of it, giving them a overly serious face. "so you swing that way, huh?" Frisk spat out the piece of the hot cat, holding their sleeve to their mouth as they held back laughter. _‘He… did he just say that?’_ The human asked Sans why he called them a pervert if he was going to make a joke like that.

Sans grinned and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "because i'm trying to break the -ice-," he said. “you on the other hand were just being creepy for staring at my bones.” Frisk said they were just trying to make sure that he was a real skeleton. "and you needed to look at my whole body to figure that out?" Frisk huffed in defeat and giggled softly. That was fair.

The human shrugged and took another bite into the hot cat, making a mental note to ignore Sans if he said something else until they were done.

As Frisk munched on the hot cat, they glanced down to the ground. They noticed that the snow started to make their boots ashen. _‘That's weird. Snow doesn't normally do that, right?’_ The human looked up at Sans and said that the snow wasn't like that on the surface. "-snow- kidding?" he quickly responded. Frisk smiled at the pun, but noticed that Sans didn't comment further on the cold ground. They guessed it was just special snow and didn't ask more as they finished their small snack.

After a short while, Sans pointed to a sign in the distance. "almost there, kid." Frisk glanced to the sign and sighed with relief. The hot cat didn't cut it for them. The hunger was still there. But, they were determined to press onward, even if their stomach was starting to growl again.

The two passed the degraded 'Welcome to Snowdin' sign as Frisk looked around. It looked... barren. They were expecting something more lively. Frisk wondered if they went into a ghost town, but when a few monsters appeared, it took the ghost town vibe away. Sans slowly got in front of Frisk, pushing them behind him. "stay back there for a bit, kiddo," he whispered. "try to look as small as possible behind me." Frisk stared up at Sans in confusion before they gently grabbed the skeleton's jacket, practically burying themselves into the fabric. This made him jolt. "i said look small, not try to fuse with me!"

Frisk told him they were doing just that. It wasn't their fault he didn't specify. They stayed put and Sans growled before he sighed, staring directly ahead. “this kid…” he whispered.

He was getting nervous as they got closer to the other monsters that were around. The monsters spotted the skeleton as he drew closer, watching him as he walked. They didn’t even seem to acknowledge Frisk. The monsters did not approach him, but that didn't stop them from whispering words like "coward", "weakling", and "traitor".

The whirling voices and insults made Sans tense up enough for Frisk to notice. He tried his best to ignore the whispering and tried to hurry to get to Grillby's. Frisk frowned at the other monsters as their gaze traveled to the back of Sans’ skull, narrowing their eyes. They straightened up and put their head on the skeleton’s shoulder as a means of reassurance. They felt him jolt again, but then they felt him relax a little.

**_‘heh... thanks, i guess, kid.’_ **

Sans opened the door as they got to Grillby’s and closed it behind him and Frisk. The skeleton was right. Compared to the outside, it was toasty in that place. The skeletal monster sighed with relief as they walked further into Grillby's. He was glad the monsters hated going into Grillby's place; it gave him a moment of peace from the annoying monsters outside. He glanced around the establishment and relished in the fact that it was quiet. Sans looked over his shoulder at Frisk, giving them a half smile and a 'stop' hand gesture. "stay right there, pal,” Sans told them.

The skeleton turned his head back as he walked to the counter and glanced around for Grillby. "hey, fire face!" the skeleton shouted. "you here?" He waited for a response, then shrugged when he doesn't get one right away. "maybe he went out."

Sans looked to the far side of the bar counter, spotting a short bottle of mustard. He strode towards the mustard, a wide smile on his face. Frisk told Sans that he shouldn't take the mustard, that it seemed almost like a trap and that it was stealing. He scoffed again, "it's not like grillby will miss it." The skeleton slowly and quietly grabbed a hold of the bottle in hopes that if Grillby was around, he wouldn't hear Sans. Sans looked around one more time before pulling the bottle towards him, but a sudden fork being stabbed into the counter made him pull the bottle away quickly. "good to see you, too, grill."

Frisk saw a tall-looking monster covered in dark purple flames stare down at Sans. The human’s eyes ended up drifting around to look at the blue flames on his arm and bigger flames on his stomach-region. They wondered if they didn't see the monster show up because they were too focused on Sans. If that was the case, the monster was very quiet.  


The flame monster was quiet for a long while, before a raspy and almost silvery voice came from the monster. "What do you want, bones?" Grillby asked. The skeleton smiled at Grillby and sat on one of the bar stools. "whatever you got for grub, hot-head," he replied, opening the mustard bottle and taking a gulp of it.

It was at that time Grillby finally glanced up and saw Frisk, giving them a wide smirk. "And what about your friend there?" Sans looked over his shoulder at Frisk. "oh, them? they want something, too," Sans responded, glancing between the human and the fire monster. The skeleton waved Frisk over as Grillby watched them for a moment. The monster’s gaze returned to Sans. “What do you want, then?” “howboutta… burg. haven’t had one in a while.” Grillby nodded and looked over towards the teenager. While on the spot, they just asked for fries. They assumed the place had some since the skeleton asked for a burger. It was a safe answer.

The fire monster didn’t say a word of confirmation. Instead he just retreated into a back room. Frisk relaxed when Grillby walked off, dragging their feet cautiously to the stool to the right of Sans. They sat on it, but yelped and got off of it quickly. When they got off, they saw that they sat on a flat toy rat. They looked over at Sans. He wasn’t looking at them, and he just had a neutral smile. A perfect poker face when you had no face. The human threw the toy off the stool, and then sat back on it.

Sans took his hands out of his pockets and rested his arms on the counter, leaning forward slightly. He was still quiet for a moment as the human heard sounds of metal and porcelain coming from the back. The skeleton finally said something when Frisk started to open their mouth to speak. "so, little birdie, remember what i told you, right?: he asked. “don't eat the snow cones he offers you.” They were curious about the nickname, but the way Sans was talking made them keep quiet.

He whispered the words, like he was afraid someone was listening. Frisk whispered back, wanting to know why. “it's made of--" The skeleton was interrupted by Grillby as he walked out from the back room, holding the plates of what they ordered. The flame monster shoved the plates in front of the two, then held his hands behind his back.

The skeleton picked up the burger and laughed softly as the bottom bun sagged, and he couldn't help himself as he grinned at Grillby. "feeling limp today, fire face?" he asked jokingly. Grillby growled, but stopped when Sans started eating the hunk of meat and two buns. He hated watching how the skeleton ate his food. His attention returned to Frisk, waiting for them to take their first bite. “Don’t worry, it’s fresh,” the flame monster purred. Frisk glanced up at Grillby, then back down at the plate. The human slowly took one fry and gave it a taste test. It tasted too salty to Frisk, but they ate more to not be rude. The flame monster looked pleased.

Despite its excessive saltiness, the fries were filling and... good. Frisk was on the last fry when Grillby laughed softly. "Would you like dessert for the road, little friend?" he asked, his tone almost hypnotic. The human's eyes darted back up to the flame monster. The conversation they and Sans had was replaying in their mind. Soon, fear began to show in their eyes.

"they don't want any, fire face," the human heard Sans interject. Grillby glared over at Sans, his voice now like a snake's hiss. "I wasn't talking to you, bones!" His gaze returned to Frisk and his voice seemed 'normal', but he appeared more persistent. "Come one, little friend,” the flame monster whispered softly. “It's on the house, no questions asked and no payment required."

Frisk gulped and shuddered as they looked over to Sans. What was in it that made Grillby so persistent, and Sans not want the human to consume it?  


The fire monster walked into the back room again as Sans finished the burger and stood up from his seat. Just as fast as he left and before the two had a chance to leave, Grillby returned with a cone of snow from outside as he held it out to the human. Even with the monster hunched over, he still towered over them. They stared at the off-white snow, only half compelled to take it. As they reached out for it out of habit, again, Sans’ words echoed throughout their mind.

They quickly retracted their hand and shook their head, apologizing and coming up with the excuse that they were full. Grillby frowned with disappointment, crossing his arms and tilting his head. "You wouldn't even try a little bite?" They could almost hear a tinge of anger with that question. Sans glared up at Grillby and smacked his hands onto the counter. "i said they don't want any of your damn dust snow cones!" he yelled at the fire monster, the fire in his right eye flaring up slightly and his left eye brightening slowly.

Dust… snow cones? _‘Wait, isn’t that what monsters…’_ Frisk glanced at the cone and scanned it. Besides the color, it looked norma-- They then noticed some fabric, and even what they thought was a stem from a loose eyeball or some kind of red worm. Then, the color started making sense. Realization kicked in as they held their hand to their mouth, already tasting bile in the back of their throat. It took all of their DETERMINATION to not puke on the spot.

Grillby snapped and stabbed the fork into the bar counter again, rage in his expression. "I thought I said I wasn't talking to you, weakling!" the flame monster growled at Sans. Frisk jumped at the growl and had to hold onto the bar to keep themselves on top of the stool. Frisk swallowed back puke and tore their eyes from the snow cone to look up at Grillby. That word… The word the other monsters used… They spoke up and told Grillby that he shouldn't call Sans that, then said that he should apologize for it. The flame monster just laughed, “Dear human, this horrible excuse for a monster IS a weakling.” His attention was immediately on Frisk. “I will prove it.”

Grillby smiled and pulled out the fork from the counter. The human couldn’t tell before because the fire monster had it in the wood, but the fork was very sharp. It looked more like a weapon than a piece of silverware.

Just like before, they saw their SOUL. It was thumping harshly, matching the rhythm of their fast heart beat. “I can tell you that the pile of bones will not even do anything when I do...” he started. Before Frisk had any time to react, Grillby reached over and sliced Frisk's throat with the fork in one swift motion as a demonstration. “...this.” Where they were slashed, there was a large gash on their SOUL as well.

Surprise and a vision of red on their hands overcame Frisk. Shock only dulled for a second. The human quickly held their hands to their neck, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. It was what the adults told them to do if a part of the body started bleeding. But, it was to no avail. Just from that swift motion and the location where he cut, they had already lost so much blood. Now, they were even choking on it.

Frisk couldn't breath, and when they tried, they'd cough and blood would spew out. They were too focused that didn't notice another pair of hands trying to stop the blood. Frisk's vision blurred and started to fade, but not before looking over and seeing a look of dread on Sans' face that quickly turned into anger. Then, a flash of multiple shades of red was the last thing they saw before their sight completely blacked out. The last things they heard were something breaking, Sans yelling something, and then… a very faint...

“Wake up.”

Frisk’s eyes shot wide open and they inhaled air sharply. It was as if they were holding their breath for a long while, like they did when they played in their neighborhood's pool. _‘Did… Was that in my head?’_ Time seemed to have turned back for Frisk. They weren’t where they were just a moment ago. The teenager saw that they were back a few feet within Snowdin, between the shop and the inn the two of them passed earlier. They held their hand to their neck, and for a moment, they thought they felt a scar. _‘So, it wasn’t my imagination?’_

Frisk quickly pushed the thoughts away. They looked around, expecting to see the skeleton; however, they didn't see Sans beside them. Their eyes widened as they looked around frantically. _‘He was around, right?’_ They started calling out for Sans, panic starting to surface in their soft voice. The human knew they had only just met the skeleton, but Frisk didn't want to be alone in a place they didn't know. He was the closest thing to a friend so far in the underground. They called out again. But, nobody, not even the monsters that stared blankly at the human, answered.

Sans brushed off his hand as he walked out of Grillby's, glancing to the side as he heard his name being called. Surprise showed up in his eye sockets. "fr-frisk? i thought you..." The skeleton was shocked to see the human seemingly unscathed. He blinked a couple of times. Sans then shook his head and smiled at Frisk, quickly grabbing the doorknob to Grillby's. "heh. i won't look a gift aaron in the mouth..."

The skeleton called out to the human, “hey, buddy! over here!” Frisk turned towards Sans' direction as they heard his low voice. Their eyes widened when they saw Sans, and the panic was then turning into relief as they started walking towards him. The skeleton threw an arm up and pointed behind him with his thumb, a nervous smile on his face. "that way is waterfall,” he said. “ it should lead us to where we need to go. we just need--" Sans stopped his sentence when Frisk hugged him.

The action took Sans aback. It was the first time in so many years that someone hugged him, let alone interacted with him, and it made him stiff as stone for a moment. Then, Sans' smile faded as red stained most of his face. He lightly pushed Frisk's forehead with his hand to try to get them off of him. "y-you're fine, little birdie.” he exhaled out, getting more embarrassed by the second. “get off of me..."

Frisk lowered their head and only held him tighter. Seeing it was no use to force them off, Sans softly sighed and then laughed through his nervousness. "geez, you get attached quickly,” he whispered quietly, patting the human’s back. Sans almost found it cute. And familiar… It still didn’t make him feel better about the monsters watching them, though. Some, he saw, were starting stare at the human hungrily.

The skeleton shifted his position quickly so the human was to his left when he turned, wrapping his left arm around them and grinning as he pulled them close to him. To Frisk, it felt like he was leaning against them and putting some on his weight on them. Sans started to walk and pulled the door to Grillby's shut with his free hand, hiding a large charred hole in the wall with blood red fire covering the newly made opening and a pile of new dust from Frisk.

Frisk asked Sans why he was holding them like that, only causing Sans to smirk. "would you prefer me to hold your hand, little birdie?" he asked. Frisk shook their head frantically and the skeleton laughed again, even more when their cheeks started to redden. Frisk preferred not to be treated like a child that would get lost if they let go of their mother's hand.

_‘Unless, he meant…’_

_‘No, that’s not it… I just met him, so that cannot be it.’_

"oh, grillby said he was sorry, by the way,” Sans said as he leaned against them further. “he even got me a whole load of hot cats to share with you." Sans pushed his free hand inside the left side of his jacket, pulling out a bag full of sausage-looking items and a few yellow bottles. He pushed it back into his jacket, and then returned his free hand to his right pocket. But, not before taking a sip of mustard he stole from the counter earlier.

The smile and laughing faded soon after as the skeleton grew quiet. Sans sighed with relief to himself as he stepped through the snow along with Frisk. **_‘so, they didn't notice it,’_** he thought to himself. **_‘good.’_** Sans narrowed his eye sockets, the right eye more red than before as another fire had grown out of it. The fire was only slightly bigger, so he hoped the human wouldn’t notice it.


	4. The Hand That Feeds You

"so, kid..." Sans finally spoke after a few feet of walking, passing the fork in the road that either lead up or stayed straight. "that's… uhhh... a neat thing you did." Frisk asked what Sans meant. "you know… coming back after 'that',” he said as he pointed to the former flame man’s building. _‘That? Oh! That…’_ So, they didn’t imagine that after all.

Frisk lightly pressed their hand against their neck, feeling for something to prove what happened. There was no pain; they weren’t sure about a scar. There was a tingling sensation where the flame monster slashed, but that was it. Redoing that slight bit after being hurt by Grillby, it was strange to Frisk. Having what they felt like was a “do-over”. Even if they didn’t really do anything over. Frisk kept their hand on their neck for a moment longer, trying to wrap their head around what happened to them.

They felt eyes on them as Sans halted and let them out of his grasp as he turned to look at Frisk. This made them stop as well. “little birdie, you alright?” he asked. The human glanced over to him and stared for a moment. _‘Am I that obvious?’_ they wondered. _‘Or is he… worried?’_

After a second longer, Frisk quickly smiled up at Sans and chuckled. They shrugged away the thought of the do-over, thinking that it couldn’t have been too bad if that's what it was. They told him it was nothing and continued to walk as Sans followed behind them. The human didn’t want the skeleton to worry. He seemed too nice to worry about them, especially with something that felt minor.

They told him that at least Grillby apologized for what he did, and then they asked if he apologized to the skeletal monster too. Sans grew quiet, but slowly nodded. "yep. hot head was very sorry about it."  In a sense. The scene of Grillby’s joint replayed in Sans’ head, and what happened because of it: Grillby slashing Frisk's throat to prove a point, his taunt and smug grin, Sans’ feeling of anger and… regret, blasting Grillby through the bar's walls (probably killing him on impact), and stealing what edible food he could.

What the fire man did to the human. It reminded him too much of 'that incident’, so he must have lost it for a second. If he had one, Sans wouldn’t have even batted an eyelash when Grillby begged for the skeleton to spare him. He barely had any to give, and fire head didn’t deserve any ounce.   
  
The skeleton decided to put that act behind him. He didn't care enough to dwell on it for too long, and he didn’t regret the his quick decision. He didn't plan on going back to Snowdin after helping the human, anyway. Too many bad memories, and nothing left to return to. He planned on either going with the kid to the surface, getting the only friends and monsters with a stable mind out. Or if it came down to it, as a last resort, taking Frisk’s SOUL and leaving by himself.

Either way, he was done with Snowdin, done with most of the other monsters, and done with the UNDERGROUND.

Frisk stopped and looked to the left, their eyes as shiny-looking as they were when they looked as Sans’ and their SOUL. Sans was surprised at what building caught the human’s eye. “that’s just the library, little birdie,” he said as he stood behind them. “not much is left in there.”

Despite what Sans just said, Frisk was compelled to go in anyway. They were always interested in books. Even at a young age, they’d rather read than play ball or “dress up” as other kids would. So, Frisk couldn’t help but walk to the small building and push open the door. They peeked into the room and saw that it was quite empty. There were a few books on the shelves on the far wall, but there wasn’t anything else. There wasn’t even a librarian.

Frisk looked over their shoulder at Sans, who merely shrugged when he got their questioning look. “don’t look at me, little birdie,” he said as he took out his left hand and lightly scratched at his cheekbone. “i told you not much is left.” The human turned back to the interior of the empty building, then headed inside.

Sans made his annoyance known as he walked in after them. He watched as they went straight to the first set of shelves, then plucked the first book they saw. A light yellow book. He walked to the right as the door shut behind him and leaned against the wall, closing his eye sockets. _**‘wonder if i can take a short snooze while the kid reads whatever shit is left here...’**_ Sans lazily opened one eye socket and gazed outside through a window. Lowlife monsters were starting to gather around Grillby’s.

The human flipped silently through the pages of the yellow book, but found nothing of interest. Just some poetry of a bizarre kind. They went to another book that was dark gray, the bind reading “History and Home”. Frisk quickly pulled out that book and opened it up as their eyes drifted to the author’s name. It was labelled as A.D. where the name would be.

Curious, they turned the page and started to read:

"Once upon a time, humans and monsters were always at war with each other. Blood and dust filled the fields, and after several casualties monsters were thrown into MT. Ebott. The king and queen were devastated at the conditions of their new home, but they made due with it. It was a downgrade from their home on the surface, but monsters learned to cope.

Eventually, the king and queen had a son. He was unfortunate to have been born within the mountain. But, at least he was safe from the humans below. When the son was a little older, he found a h---- something that fell inside the-"

Frisk blinked a couple of times and frowned at the abrupt end. The book looked like it had some pages missing, rending the book unreadable after that small portion. They sighed with disappointment and were tempted to reach for another book. The skeleton behind them cleared his throat, as if he was reminding them he was still there. Frisk looked over their shoulder at Sans as he walked to the door.

He looked uncomfortable. “i hate to make you LEAF, but i really want to get out of here,” he murmured, just loud enough for them to hear him, “today would be ICE.” Frisk frowned at him, but nodded in agreement.

Despite wanting to read more, they thought it would be best to leave the library and go to “Waterfall”. Wherever that was.

Frisk turned back to the shelf and placed the book back onto it. They made a heel turn as they walked towards the door, Sans held it open for them as they walked out before he walked out himself. The human turned left and headed towards the direction Sans mentioned. He grinned at the human’s action and pushed his hand back into his pocket, but he just had to glance forward. What was no more than few feet was a sight he didn’t want to see, or even walk beside.    
  
The skeleton hurried after the human and trailed close behind them. He was getting slower as they were approaching a burnt, husk of a house. Images popped into Sans’ head and they were already giving him a skull ache. Images of a better time, of a decent-looking house, and two voices laughing within. **_‘heh... how long’s it been, huh?’_** he wondered, avoiding as much eye contact with the burnt out home as the two of them reach it.   
  
Frisk stopped and glanced towards the large carcass, which pulled Sans out of his thoughts. The sudden stop made him halt in his tracks. The human moved away from the skeleton, and headed to the side of what Sans use to call home. "what is it, little birdie?" he asked before they were too far from earshot.

The human didn’t answer.   
  
Sans watched as Frisk knelt down, hearing a soft gasp. He then heard them speak softly. He spotted three little horns passed Frisk's head. He knew exactly who it was, and he wasn't surprised he overlooked them. Maybe he subconsciously chose to ignore them. It was a small monster that irritated the hell out of him. Sometimes seeing them even pissed Sans off. "best to just leave the monster kid,” he called out to them, clearly wanting the small monster to hear him. “they'd just weigh us down."   
  
Frisk looked over their shoulder at Sans and frowned at him. He looked away and crossed his arms, huffing and cursing under his breath. The human turned their head back to the figure sitting with their back against the house as they talked to the monster kid in an almost motherly voice.

Monster Kid turned their head to the side, trying to ignore Frisk. He was sure they couldn’t see the human in front of them, but Sans could tell they were already annoyed by Frisk. The teenager continued to talk as they looked at the small fire on the monster's chest and one on their foot, grimacing at the sight. But, the one place that caused concern was the monster’s eyes. They were both stitched close, as if the eyelids were pieces of cloth.

They felt an impulse to try and remove the thread, but they thought that would cause discomfort. Or worse. Against their better judgement, they instinctively asked the young monster what happened to their eyes. The monster flinched at the question, shifting away from Frisk.

_‘Frisk, that was a stupid question!’_ they cursed at themselves. _‘Now they probably think you’re making fun.’_  
  
The human quietly apologized as sighed softly and stood up, turning to Sans. They were starting to walk off, but stopped when a soft growl came from Monster Kid. A growl that didn't come from the mouth, but from... Frisk looked over their shoulder at the young monster. _‘Are they... hungry?’_ Frisk wondered.

They turned back to Sans and walked up to him. They opened their hand and held it out to the skeleton, confusing him. "little birdie...?" Frisk asked him to hand them the bag of hot cats to give to the small monster. Sans' eye sockets widened, but he narrowed them just as fast. "kid, we need this food," Sans stated, his low voice just a bit louder. Frisk told him that the young monster needed it, too. They kept their hand near Sans, watching as he glanced between their hand and the monster kid.

The skeleton soon pulled out the bag of food from his jacket, distaste in his eye sockets. "fine, little birdie,” he huffed. “but, it's your share that you're giving them." The human nodded as Sans handed them the bag. Frisk pulled out two hot cats before giving the bag back to the skeleton. "don't cry to me when you're DYING for my share," Sans said, storing the bag away once more. Frisk smiled and nodded again, making their way back to the young monster.   
  
Frisk knelt down to Monster Kid once more and lightly placed the hot cats on their lap. The human told them if they needed it, there was food there. They got back up to leave, but stopped immediately when they heard the young monster speak. "Is this a joke?” Frisk heard them say. They sounded like a child that didn’t get a toy they wanted. “I don't have arms to pick these up." Monster Kid turned their head towards Frisk's direction, showing their sharp teeth. "Aren't you going to help me eat?" the young monster asked. The human smiled nervously and apologized.   
  
Sans pushed his hands into his pockets, scoffing and walking towards the house. He focused his attention away from it as he turned and leaned against it, his backbone pressed against it. “we don’t have time for this,” he mumbled to himself. “we should just leave ‘em.” This caused the young monster to become quiet.   
  
Frisk told Monster Kid to not pay Sans any attention as they lightly picked up the hot cats and told the young monster to open wide. Monster Kid waited a moment before they opened their mouth. They leaned their head forward as they chomped on the hot cat, causing Frisk to gasp again. Monster Kid’s teeth almost nipped Frisk's fingers as they practically swallowed the big chunk whole. The action got the attention of Sans as he looked around the corner at the two. His left eye was glowing slightly as he watched.

Monster Kid licked their lips as they sniffed the air. "Yo. You have another one?" they asked with more enthusiasm in their voice. Frisk told the young monster they did as they held out the other hot cat. This time, Frisk held the item in a way so they were sure they wouldn't get bit.   
  
Monster Kid ate the second hot cat slower, biting half of it and chewing it. They swallowed it as they chomped on the second half. After the young monster chewed and swallowed the last piece, they whispered a sarcastic-sounding "thanks" to Frisk. The human smiled and stood up, telling the young monster bye as they and Sans started to continue down the path towards Waterfall.   
  
The two of them only made it a few feet from the house before stopping when they heard a soft thud and someone grunted in pain. Sans and Frisk looked behind them, watching as Monster Kid picked themselves up and waddled towards Frisk. Sans couldn’t help snorting and holding in his laughter as the young monster approached them. His face was turning red from him grinning widely. With the same enthusiasm in the monster’s voice, "Yo, you heading to Waterfall?" The human told him that they were, and the young monster smiled slightly. "Can I come, then?"   
  
"no. you're not coming with us," Sans stated. His smile went away quickly as he turned his head and started walking again. He was halted when Frisk grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, looking over at the human with an irritated expression. "what?" he growled.

They gave him a pitiful look that threw Sans off-guard. It was a look he was well acquainted with. "no..." He knew what that look meant. "whatever you're thinking, no." Frisk's expression turned into a puppy dog look as they started pleading. Sans blushed at the look and his SOUL thumped within his rib cage. He hastily moved his gaze from them. He wasn't use to that kind of gaze anymore, and it was making him uncomfortable.    
  
Frisk walked over to the young monster and turned to Sans. He made the mistake of glancing back to Frisk, regretting it immediately when he did. He was sweating when he still saw the puppy dog eyes. The only difference being the human was now hugging Monster Kid and was teary-eyed.   
  
More familiarity, and Sans couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. Their actions, that look, the kindness that could kill them if he wasn’t watching. It reminded him of a certain someone who was too nice for his own good, too. The skeleton felt defeated, and it was just from a look. So much power over him just by a damn look. He blamed his SOUL for him giving in.   
  
Sans growled as his blush deepened, and soon the growl gained the attention of a few monsters that were close to them. He had to regain his composure so the prying eyes didn’t try or say anything. "fine, little birdie, if it'll stop you from giving me that damn face,” he said as he felt the urge to grind his sharp teeth. “they can come with us, but once we get out of waterfall, we’re leaving them." Frisk thanked Sans and lightly grabbed the shirt of the young monster as they both walked towards the skeleton. Sans shut his eye sockets as he walked in front of the two.

_**‘this human is going to be a walking headache, huh?’**_ the skeleton thought silently as he opened his eye sockets again. The kid was too nice. _**'why... are they so damn nice? don’t they know being kind can kill ya?'**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this doesn't seem like too much. But, if everyone wants, I can add a separate chapter for the backstory of this AU or on certain characters.
> 
> *rubs the back of head* I mean only if people want that.


	5. You Break It, You're Dead

The last bit of the snowy area got smaller behind the three as they followed along a stream, the water barely splashing even though the water was moving fast. Frisk watched it move as they started to veer towards it. Monster Kid had to pull them from the water with their teeth, which pulled them out of their slight interest in the stream.

The snow was soon replaced with dark red grass as they reached a dimly lit area. The skeleton sighed with relief as the temperature rose to a comfortable level and heard the loud rush of water, letting him know that they were walking into Waterfall. Sans was glad to be out of Snowdin and away from the cold. He was sure Frisk was, too. Their red sweater jacket didn't seem very warm to him.    
  
The skeleton glanced around, feeling that it was the first time going into the area. He couldn't remember the last time he was in Waterfall. "still looks as dark as i remember it," he said, his eyes returning to the front. Frisk hoped that was a joke, but their hope shattered when they got further into the area. The place WAS dark. The only light that the human saw was faint red lights in the distance, as well as the fire on all of their bodies. Frisk asked Sans if Waterfall was always dark.   
  
Sans glanced towards Frisk and Monster Kid as a slight smile formed. "pretty much,” he said. “it use to be a different color here, but it was always this dark.” If Sans remembered right, the place use to have an indigo hue. The red hue came later on, after the first fire of the king was obtained. One of the worst days he heard about.

The human frowned at the thought, making Sans' smile falter. "well, at least i can light up the way,” he laughed as he forced a smile. “maybe i can even BRIGHTEN up your day?" The skeleton pointed at the fire patch on his shoulder, attempting a joke to make the human feel better.   
  
Frisk glanced towards Sans, their left hand still holding Monster Kid's shirt to help them along. After a moment of the skeleton ready to give up on the joke, they giggled softly and nodded once the joke sank in. They told him that he better stick around and be their torch. Sans laughed at the demand, then looked away to see in front of him. "yep, just follow me so you don't get lost, little birdie," he whispered as they past one of the star-looking objects from before.

The nickname again. Since Sans said it again, they were compelled to ask why he kept calling them that. He looked over at them for a second, as if surprised that they'd ask that. But he quickly looked away with a soft grin. “in a human book i found, it had creatures from the surface in it with meanings behind each one,” he spoke softly. “with how you’ve been dealing with this whole thing, you remind me of a bird.”

Frisk especially reminded him of one of those fire birds humans seem to love putting in their stories. A phoenix, as humans called it. Though the reason why they reminded him of one was obvious, in a morbid way.   
  
_ ‘I guess I’ll take that answer.’ _

Frisk tilted their head, then they shrugged. They followed along as they lightly touched at the area past their left shoulder with their free hand. It was starting to burn now that they were in a warmer area. The human noticed mild warmth earlier, but they thought it was just their sweater jacket rubbing against their back.

They looked over their shoulder, their eyes widened slightly at the soft flame dancing along in the air. _‘So I had one, too?'_ Frisk wondered. _‘When did I get that?’_   
  
Sans noticed Frisk's movement as he glanced between the fire on Frisk's back and the human. "that bothering you, kid?" he asked as he slowed his pace so he was at the human’s right side. The human nodded and the skeleton chuckled, pulling his left hand out of his pocket to ruffle their hair. They quickly fixed their hair when he moved his hand. "try having more than one, kid,” he scoffed before he grinned wide. “having more than one just leaves me BURNING with anger." Frisk laughed softly at the pun as Sans’ smile widened. It had been so, so long since he heard someone genuinely laughing. It was nice.

On the other hand, Monster Kid was not amused by the skeleton's puns. The young monster growled softly under their breath. They wondered why Frisk didn't try to kill the skeleton by now because of the jokes. If the young monster could see, they would have already pushed Sans off a cliff. Maybe they were just more patient than the small monster.   
  
The young monster was starting to regret tagging along, but they thought it will be worth it in the end. They still didn't recognize the voice or the body type of the person that was holding their shirt. And if their naive and curious nature was evident, that told them one thing: this person has never been around the underground before. That either made them a stupid idiot, or a human.   
  
Monster Kid figured Frisk was the latter. Why else would this skeleton act so nice and try to be comical? He was never like this around other monsters. Well, except for the few that had his trust. The only other time he was he was like this was when he and the idiot were protecting… They shook their head rapidly. They didn't understand Sans, and thinking about what happened only made the young monster more angry. Monster Kid muttered something quietly as they thought of ways to vent their anger, hoping neither Frisk nor Sans heard them.   
  
Frisk slowly glanced around the area to see if they saw anyone. They only thing they saw were the red lights and some flowers along the way, as well as another star. The human asked Sans if there were any monsters in Waterfall. Sans seemed slightly surprised at the question, but he shrugged slightly. "there use to be, little birdie,” he said quietly. “most went to hotland or snowdin."

It was a blatant lie, and Monster Kid knew it. "i think one of my old friends are here." This made the young monster snort, but Sans disregarded the sound.   
  
The human ignored the young monster’s soft laugh and asked the skeleton who his friend was. Sans huffed and smiled over at Frisk. "i don't really know their name, and i don't even know if they're a guy or girl,” he said. “i only know that they really like their boat, so i just call them boat." And they were one of the only monsters Sans could tolerate. "they can get irritable easily, but they should give us a ride if we ask nicely."   
  
The skeleton had used a few 'shortcuts' to help them get around Waterfall safer and faster without telling his two guests. At least, he decided to use them for areas that either needed someone to fly or swim to get across. The human shouldn't notice if he did use them, anyway. They’ve never been in Waterfall, after all. So, for a few places he used the shortcuts as he made sure Frisk and Monster Kid were close behind him.   
  
Using his magic, it didn't take too long before Sans saw a familiar place. Houses that belong, or belonged, to the ghosts were up ahead. Even HER house was up ahead. The skeleton kept his eyes away from the path that lead up to the royal guard's home, glancing over his shoulder at Frisk and then at Monster Kid. The young monster was looking in HER home's direction. It almost felt like they knew they were near it. It would have been pitiful to see them like that, but the skeleton held no sympathy for the young monster.

Their IDOL deserved what Sans did to her.

Every.

Single.

Second.

Of.

It.

Sans instinctively tugged on the dark scarf around his neck as the fire in his right eye socket flickered for a brief second. An idol habit he developed when he thought of the fish bitch.   
  
Frisk finally noticed after a moment that Sans was looking at them and Monster Kid, before they asked him if anything was wrong. The skeleton blinked as he snorted and shook his head. "nah... just making sure you two were still back there,” he replied back as he smiled warmly at them. “that and i need to know you'll WATCH MY BACK." Frisk laughed once more as they hurried along to keep up with Sans, making sure to keep hold of the young monster's shirt.   
  
Sans then turned a corner to where he remembered the river person residing. He hoped to see them and hoped that they would give Sans, Frisk, and Monster Kid a ride. But, the river person was nowhere to be seen. “boat, where are ya?” the skeleton yelled out as he moved towards the river. Frisk followed behind slowly and cautiously, soon letting go of Monster Kid's shirt.   
  
The skeleton stopped as he saw something bobbing lightly in the water. Curious, Sans examined the water as best as he could without falling in, scooping up part of the river person's boat. He narrowed his eye sockets and sighed. "i guess he got to you, too," Sans muttered, an apology escaping him as he threw the boat piece back into the water. Frisk stepped forward and knelt beside Sans as they looked into the river to see what Sans saw.   
  
Frisk asked Sans where his friend was, making him go silent. After a moment, he collected himself to talk to them. "not here, i guess,” he whispered. “maybe they went somewhere else." Sans hated to think about the worst case scenario, but the river person wouldn't have left their boat like that.   
  
The skeleton got up as Monster Kid walked close to Frisk after following their voice. "well, there goes our romantic boat ride,” he said was a fake grin. “and here i was going to sing for everyone." Sans shrugged again as he pushed his hands into his pockets, starting to walk away from the boat's wreckage. Long way it was, then. Sans didn't mind a scenic detour, and maybe Frisk wouldn't mind it either.

"well, i guess i can just give you a tour, kid. what do you thi--"   
  
A loud splash interrupted Sans, causing him to turn around quickly. He saw for moment of what happened, or what he assumed happened. Monster Kid was facing the water, and Frisk... "you, didn't…” the skeleton murmured, but his voice was quickly louder than normal, “why the hell did you do that!?"

Sans hurried back to the side of the river and glanced around for Frisk. By the time he caught a glimpse of them, it was too late to pull them out by their SOUL as he heard their SOUL shatter. Just like it did with Grillby. Sans frowned at the water as punched the ground with his hands, but then he looked over as a look of pure rage drifted to Monster Kid.    
  
Fire seemed to appear in both of Sans' eye sockets as four flaming Gaster Blasters appear beside him. "kid, if little birdie doesn't come back like they did in one piece, you're going to join your 'crush'," he growled, any ounce of humor replaced with anger. Monster Kid flinched at the word, but they were adamant to stand their ground. "Yo! Go ah-ahead!” they barked back. “Y-you don't scare me!" The skeleton grinned evilly and chuckled as he readied one of the Blasters. If looks killed, and if they still had their eyes, he was sure they’d drop dead on the spot.

Before he could even fire, the young monster faded from the area as Sans was left alone. Alone, with pent up anger, and no one to hit. The Blasters faded as his eyes returned to their 'normal' state. “did... did it happen again?”   
  
“Don’t sleep. Wake up and open your eyes...”  
  
Frisk's vision started to return after being clouded by water. They could still taste the water in their mouth, and they felt an urge to cough. A slight shiver ran up their spine even though they were sure they weren’t wet. They wondered where they ended up as they glanced around. The human was back between the multiple paths they, Monster Kid, and Sans passed.  
  
The human felt shifting behind them as Monster Kid looked over Frisk's shoulder. "Yo, what's wrong?" they asked. Frisk glanced behind them at Monster Kid, seeing they were in the same spot as before. Frisk was holding their shirt once again. _‘Did they not notice what happened?”_ they wondered. _'And…'_ They turned their head to where Sans was. Their eyes widened as they looked around.  
  
Like when they… died before, Sans was nowhere in sight when they came back. _‘Why is Monster Kid here, and not Sans?’_ The same feeling as before welled up inside them. The feeling of being abandoned and anxiety. A feeling similar to being left in a dark room with no sound and no air.

Frisk started to run forward, practically pulling the young monster along with them as they ran. But, they didn't have to run too far.   
  
Frisk stopped as they saw Sans, sitting and leaning his back against the inner wall of the area where human fell into the river. He appeared to be waiting patiently. They quickly let go of Monster Kid's shirt as they walked close to the skeleton, kneeling down and telling Sans hello. Sans eyes quickly gazed up at Frisk, shock in them at first.

That shock was soon replaced with relief. "there you are, kid,” he said through a shaky breath. “had me DEAD worried." Frisk smiled at the pun and told Sans sorry. They told him that they guessed they were too 'dense'. The skeleton let out a soft, yet worried laugh. "clearly not DENSE enough to float, little birdie." Sans stood up and gave Frisk a brief hug out of impulse. "tell me when you want to swim next time, ok?" Frisk returned the hug and nodded slowly, apologizing again.   
  
Sans glanced over to Monster Kid, then back to Frisk as he released them from the hug. "hey, do you mind going ahead and waiting?” he softly whispered against their ear. “i want to have a quick chat with your little friend there."

Frisk tilted their head and asked why. "it'll be quick, i promise,” he said. “we'll be done before you miss us." The human frowned, but they nodded and turned away from the two. They left the small area and went to the right of the room as they waited down the path.   
  
Sans waited until Frisk was out of his line of sight before he turned to the young monster, grabbing the collar of their shirt and pulling them close to him. "think about hurting frisk again," Sans hissed as he glared at Monster Kid, giving them a menacing smile as death lingered in his eyes, "and i'll break every bone i can find in your body so there is no way for you to ever move it again. capiche?" Monster Kid nodded as beads of sweat rolled down their face, trembling slightly.

"good... now come on," Sans commanded as let go of the young monster's shirt. He grabbed Monster Kid's SOUL as he lifted them into the air with his magic, walking towards where he told Frisk to wait. "i don't want the kid to wait too long."   
  
Monster Kid didn't remembered what they did, and they didn't know how Sans knew they were thinking of such a thing. The young monster would have to be more careful and get the human's SOUL when Sans wasn't around. Or when his guard was down. They wanted the SOUL badly since he found out they were human, and after all of the stories about human SOULs, it heightened the feeling. If they didn’t get it, then Asgore would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play a game, shall we? How many ways can we kill a human?
> 
> I plan on putting this up, and then the next within the night since it's as good as I can get it.
> 
> I also was thinking about putting up sub-chapters (you know, a chapter between the actual chapters) and give more context or just a snippet of background info. I don't know. 
> 
> *noms on poptart*
> 
> I'm not really good with chapter notes, so... bye.


	6. The Fall of the Real Hero

Sans waited outside of his home for his brother Papyrus, leaning against the wall. He had his eye sockets closed as he listened in at some of the conversations that the bunny monsters were having. The brief talk Sans and his brother had, before the tall skeleton left to patrol, replayed every so often in his mind: “SANS! THE KING REQUIRES OUR PRESENCE!” “huh, what the hell for?” “I’M… UNSURE, BUT HE WAS PERSISTENT THAT WE GO!” “he didn’t tell you why?” “NOPE, JUST THAT WE NEED TO BE THERE SOON.”

It was a rare request and Sans didn’t like it. Their king despised the him. If it wasn't for Papyrus, the king would have already banished him to a isolated area of the underground, or worse. So, getting a personal summoning made him nervous, and he was sure the nervousness was plastered on his skull. "SANS!" a familiar voice yelled out.

Sans glanced to the right when he heard his name. As soon as he saw who was calling for him, some of the unease left him.   
  
The shorter skeleton grinned as a taller one with fire on his feet approached, holding something in his hand. "hey, papyrus," Sans said, trying his best to not sound excited. He moved from the house and walked towards his brother. He had to yet again resist the urge to hug his brother as a greeting. If they were home, he would have done it anyway. But, being out in Snowdin in front of others, he didn’t want them gain the attention of the monsters that lived there.

Papyrus glanced around quickly before he leaned towards Sans, slight panic in his voice. He glanced back down to his brother when no one seemed to be listening in. "SANS, I TOLD YOU TO REFER TO ME AS 'BOSS' WHEN WE'RE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE," he quietly said.   
  
Sans frowned slightly. He kept forgetting about that. "right, sorry... boss," he said. They had to appear hostile or at least indifferent about each other, or they were sure they would be targeted. With how most people in the underground were, they would immediately use one of the skeleton brothers as a leverage towards the other. They couldn’t have that happen when all they had were each other.

The shorter skeleton soon shifted his attention to Papyrus' hand. "what's that, boss?" he asked, cocking his head slightly to the left. The taller skeleton grinned sharply and handed the object to Sans as he put on his act. "I HEARD YOU WERE BEGGING FOR FOOD LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE, SO I STOLE THIS FROM ONE OF THOSE DISGUSTING STORES YOU GO TO!" he nyeh-ed loudly.   
  
Papyrus' voice was loud, but it wasn't enough for Sans to get a headache. So, he endured it. If it helped his brother keep his reputation, he’d go through Hell itself. He glanced down at what the taller skeleton brought him: a freshly cooked hot cat nearly covered in mustard. The smile returned as he held up the treat, before taking a large bite out of it. "NOW COME, SANS,” said Papyrus as he started to march towards the castle. “KING ASGORE REQUIRES US TO BE IN HIS THRONE ROOM!" Sans followed behind Papyrus as he began to talk with his mouth full. "you sure you don’t know what he wants?"   
  
Papyrus shook his head. "SANS, I TOLD YOU,” he huffed softly. “I ONLY KNOW THAT HE WANTED TO SEE US BOTH." Unease was returning to Sans. Whatever the tyrant wanted, it wasn't going to be a good thing.

Sans glanced up towards his brother as he pushed the last bit of the hot cat into his mouth. "if it's urgent, should we use my shortcuts?" Papyrus shook his head again, looking over his shoulder briefly. "I THOUGHT WE WOULD BE FASHIONABLY LATE,” he said as the same nervousness plagued his expression. “I CAN ALWAYS BLAME YOU, BROTHER." Sans laughed quietly at the statement.

The two turned a corner and were greeted by the sight of the river person as their boat bobbed gently in the water. Sans grinned wide at the figure as he and Papyrus reached them. “boat, WATER you doing today?” he let out through his teeth. He almost let out a laugh as he heard his brother groan with distaste behind him.

The river person didn’t respond to the pun, merely being indifferent about it. “Tro lo lo. How can I help you? Tro lo lo,” they asked in their usual monotonous, yet sing-song voice. Papyrus decided to step in and tell them where. If Sans continued to talk with them, then they will certainly be late. “JUST TO HOTLAND, RIVER MONSTER,” he answered before Sans could. He received a nod of confirmation. A covered hand extended towards the two skeletons.

Sans glanced down at the hand and huffed slowly, reaching into his pockets to find some gold. “SANS, WHY NOT LET M--” “nah, i got it, boss.” He kept fishing in his pockets before he finally sighed with relief. He pulled out his hands and placed six G into the river person’s palm.

The river person’s hand retreated back to their side. “Tro lo lo. Hop on then. Tro lo lo.” The two did as they were told and stepped onto the boat that almost seemed too small for the three of them. Then, once they were secure, the boat sped off.   
  
The trek wasn't as long as it would have been thanks to the river person. Sans hated that he had to use some gold, but he was glad the figure let them ride anyway. Papyrus stepped off of the boat first as Sans followed. He turned to the river person and muttered lowly, "thanks, pal." The river person nodded as the shorter skeleton turned back and walked slowly behind his brother. Before he was too far, he heard the river monster speak.

"Tro lo lo. Only heartache will leave the castle. Be wary... Tro lo lo."

The short skeleton stopped and looked over his shoulder at the river person. The hooded figure was always cryptic, but that random message sent a chill down his spine. It was just a random thing, right? A random thing that sounded like a warning. He opened his mouth to ask the figure what he meant, but he glanced back towards Papyrus, who had kept walking. Sans blinked a couple of times before shaking his skull and hurrying after his brother.

He decided to push the river person's words to another part of his mind. It was just cryptic words of a mysterious monster. That was all.

Sans inwardly told himself this as he caught up to Papyrus, before they passed Alphys' lab. "anything you want to eat when we get back, boss?” he asked as he pushed his hands snugly into his pockets. “how does grillby's sound?" Papyrus laughed and crossed his arms, tapping his finger on the right one. "HA! I THOUGHT YOU HATED GRILLBY?" The shorter skeleton returned the laugh. "i do, but i love tormenting him and FANNING HIS FLAMES," he replied.

The two smiled at each other briefly, looking away quickly as they made their way to Asgore's castle.   
  
After going through a few elevators, the familiar sound of dead flowers and leaves crunching under their shoes echoed through the halls. Asgore was in his throne like he always was, tapping his finger on the right arm. Undyne stood on guard beside it with a weapon in hand, her body seeming to have more flames than normal. "You both are late," his gruff voice barely seeped out of his mouth and irritation was evident in the way he spoke. He didn’t raise his voice, but something in the king's tone was intimidating for both of the skeletons.   
  
Sans cleared his throat to speak first, hoping to give a comical and passive approach. "sorry 'bout that, king fuzzy," he managed to get out. “we had to make a few pit stops so i could eat." Asgore glared down at the skeleton, disgust in his dark eyes. "Riiight."

The skeleton grinned and started to say more, until Papyrus placed his gloved hand over his brother's mouth. "DO NOT MIND HIM, YOUR MAJESTY,” the tall skeleton softly spoke. “YOU KNOW HOW HE GETS DELIRIOUS WHEN HE'S TIRED."   
  
King Asgore huffed loudly and slowly as he closed his eyes, before opening them back up. "Do you know why I brought you two here?" he inquired. Sans slowly pulled his brother's hand away from his mouth as he laughed softly. "to give us a promotion?" The king grinned coldly as he leaned forward in his seat. "Not quite, rat,” the king responded, visibly glad the nickname made Sans winch. “More of a promotion for your brother, if he's done what he's told."

That was fine. Sans wasn't much for more work, anyway. "YOU ARE TOO KIND, YOUR MAJESTY!” Papyrus’ excitement was clear as day in his tone. “WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?" The king’s smile lingered as his eyes drifted to Papyrus.

"Oh, it's simple,” Asgore whispered. “Just turn to your brother... and kill him for me.”

“Then, you'll be a true royal guard like Undyne."   
  
Papyrus and Sans stood in silence for several moments, until Sans broke the silence with his low laughter. “oh, i knew there was a funny man in there somewhere!” he howled with laughter. “you got me! that was good." Asgore threw down his trident as it made a loud thump against the ground. "Do you think I'm joking, clown?" he yelled as he stood up, towering over the skeletons and Undyne.

Sans immediately became silent as Papyrus started to become nervous. "KING ASGORE, I KNOW SANS CAN BE LAZY, BUT--" "Precisely, he is a waste of space and an unnecessary mouth to feed,” he countered. Not to mention, he betrayed him by protecting and absorbing one of the SOULs he needed. “His uselessness ends today." The smile on the king's face was gone now, a low growl vibrating in his throat, "I was being kind enough to give you the option to kill him yourself, but if I do it, it will be slow and painful.”

“You want to be like Undyne, right?” His voice was soft again. “Just do as I say, like you usually do."   
  
Papyrus grew quiet again. He didn't know if he had the heart to hurt, much less kill Sans. He usually resorted to fake attacks, but this? The shorter skeleton looked towards his brother, reassurance in his voice. "boss, if it'll help you, go ahead and do it,” he whispered. “you wanted to be a royal guard all your life, so go ahead." The taller skeleton glanced towards his brother, fear in his eye sockets. "BUT, SANS. I..."

Sans held his finger over his brother’s mouth before he could finish, a gesture he did when he and Papyrus hid from monsters when they were younger. "papyrus, please,” he started, “i would rather you do it than king fuzzy."   
  
Papyrus shook his head and panic started to surface in his voice. "SANS, I REFUSE TO HARM YOU JUST TO BE A ROYAL GUARD!” his voice boomed. “THE TERRIFIC PAPYRUS WILL NEV--" Before Papyrus was able to finish his sentence, a large, light blue point pierced through his back and came out of his chest. The attacked made a direct hit to his SOUL. Sans' eye sockets widened as the taller skeleton fell to his knees, revealing Undyne behind him.

She placed her foot onto his back and pulled out the spear from Papyrus' body, moving away from him slowly.   
  
Papyrus stared down at the wound in his chest, before glancing up to Sans. He gave his brother a small smile as realization show up in Sans’ eye sockets. "WELL, I GUESS YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TREAT ME FOR DINNER, BROTHER,” he said through a laugh. “I APOLOGIZE ABOUT... THAT."

Papyrus fell forward as a shocked Sans tried to catch him, but all he caught was dust that fell onto his clothes and Papyrus' scarf as the rest of him crashed to the floor. A shaky hand slowly held the cloth close, red eyes dark as thoughts raced through Sans' mind. “pa... papyrus?” He started to grind his sharp teeth together as tears began to trail down. Sans tightly clenched the scarf as his hand turned into a fist. “pap…?”   
  
Undyne stepped back slightly, staring down at Sans. Asgore looked pleased with her display as he chuckled. "Very good, Undyne,” he cooed. “We can't afford to have soft-hearted monsters in our ranks."

The fish monster pivoted her waist and looked over towards the king. "Should I kill him, too?" she questioned as she watched through her helmet. The skeleton lowered his head, waiting for the king's answer as a small feeling inside him started to grow. What was it? He had felt something like it before, but this time was different. What was it...? "Do what you want with him, Undyne,” Asgore said dismissively. “He meant nothing to me or my kingdom, anyway." Undyne turned back to Sans, raising her spear up above her head.   
  
The royal guard quickly threw down her spear while he was in a shocked state, but she only hit solid ground. "Wah! Where are you!?" Undyne looked around as she turned back to see Sans in the same position as before. She threw down the spear again, hitting only the ground once more. "SIT STILL AND DIE, TRAITOR!" she screamed and pulled her spear out of the ground. The king was not happy.   
  
Undyne turned around once more and stopped at the sight of a Gaster Blaster, followed by a look of pure malice. The skeleton then held a large menacing smile on his skull. "shouldn't have done that to papyrus, fish," he growled as the blaster fired at Undyne. She was briefly caught by surprise as it barely missed her. "HA! So, you're actually fighting?” she yelled again. “I'm surprised it took dusting your brother for you to fight!"

A freshly chopped nerve was struck.

Sans' left eye glowed brightly as he summoned several bones of varied sizes, the three patches of fire on him whipping around. He snapped his fingers as the bones started flying at Undyne. Once again, the royal guard dodged his attack.   
  
Undyne grinned from behind her helmet and threw a couple of spears at the skeleton. Sans dodged each swiftly as he shrugged at the attacks, taking the fish monster aback. "HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SO FAST, YOU LARD!?" She attempted another attack, but the skeleton teleported behind her once more.

“you’re so damn annoying…”

The skeleton held his left hand out and closed it. He opened it back up again once Undyne's SOUL was visible. Sans tightly held onto her SOUL with his magic so she could not move too much. The red lights in his eye sockets were no longer there. His eyes were now a solid black.

When Asgore tried to get up and intervene, four walls of flaming bones trapped him on his throne. “Damn skeleton,” he murmured. Even though he was confined and was forced to stay seated, he tried to slash at the bones. But, the blood red fire on them made him move his hand over his face in discomfort. They were bright, and the embers were burning his eyes. What was it that made the weakling's fire hurt him?

Sans swung his arm to the right as Undyne was thrown to the right of the room, making her hit the glass windows. He left her there for just a moment. His hand was still shaking as he looked towards the fish. “undyne, you… why would you do that to pap?” the skeleton snarled between his teeth. He swung his arm to the left and Undyne soon hit the opposite wall, the impact throwing off her helmet. “you couldn’t disobey fluffass once!?” Sans threw his hand down swiftly and Undyne landed hard on the floor.

This time, bones protruded out of the floor as the fish monster got impaled by five bones in several places. "Damn coward, I'll make you pay for this!” Undyne screamed. “Just wait until I--!" A bone impaled her from the back of the head, going out of her mouth and silencing her. The words of brainwashed fish annoyed him, though he did feel a tiny bit bad. The body of his once close friend disappeared into a cloud of dust and ash. As far as Sans thought, he did her a favor.

The bones in the floor and around the king faded away as Sans' gaze drifted to Asgore, aiming a Gaster Blaster at him next. "You dare threaten me, coward?” the king barked. “Guards!" Movement made Sans glance over his shoulder at the two guards that were outside, their swords aimed at the skeleton.   
  
Sans sighed and turned back to Asgore, the Gaster Blaster disappearing. "you're lucky i'm not DYING for another fight, king fuzzy,” he sighed. He quickly summoned more bones and snapped his fingers once more before the bones flew at the king. Only three hit their target, pinning Asgore to his throne. Sans briskly teleported out of the throne room, using a shortcut to go back to Snowdin.   
  
The skeleton hurried towards his house and ran inside of it, shutting the door behind him. Sans took a deep breath, tired from both the magic and the fair amount of running. "that didn't happen... that didn't happen… that didn’t happen... that didn’t happen… that didn’t happen..."

He took another deep breath, his eyes drifting down to Papyrus' scarf. Tears started to form in his eye sockets again as they return to the their normal state and reality set in his mind. "pa-papyrus...?" Sans pushed his face into his brother's scarf, more tears escaping his eye sockets. "please... don't leave me..."

A bit of fire was starting to seep out of his closed right eye socket, but he was too focused on the piece of cloth he once made to feel the pain start to set in.   
  
Sans then started to sob heavily as he slid down the door and sat on the ground. The skeleton pleaded and apologized under his breath, his hands tightening around Papyrus' scarf. He felt sick to his stomach. He felt like throwing up until he passed out from it. Anything to make him sleep off this bad dream.

He was so deep in his grief that he didn't hear his name at first. 

"S...NS."

It sounded a little like Papyrus at first. Although as it got clearer, Sans was sure it wasn’t his voice. "Sans.” The was too soft to be his brother’s. "Sans..."

A tug on his jacket and the sound of his name brought Sans back to reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "If you want to be a royal guard, you can't hesitate to kill anyone. ANYONE."
> 
> I just wanted to get this up with the previous chapter since I could be busy November, and I wanted continue working on another few things I had. (Yes, some Undertale related, some not.)
> 
> Also just a quick little side note.  
> Sans is considered fast, but his magic isn't. It's suppose to be more blunt than quick.


	7. Vision of Crimson Echo Flowers

Sans was removed from his thoughts. There was a dark look in his eyes, like he had been awoken from a long sleep. He glanced over to Frisk slowly as his vision started to return to normal. They were holding his left jacket sleeve, curiosity and concern etched on their face. "what, little birdie?" he asked them, putting his comic facade back on.

The human turned and pointed to a deep red flower. They finally were able to see them up close now, so Frisk asked what the flower was and why there were so many.

"oh, those?"

Sans’ gaze drifted to the flower, a rather uncomfortable look on his face. "those are... echo flowers," he said. Sans chuckled softly and walked over the nearest flower as he knelt down to it. Frisk walked after the skeleton, followed by Monster Kid who had a hold of the human's jacket in their mouth. Sans held his finger over his mouth as he lightly touched the crimson Echo flower with his other hand, before it started talking.

Frisk was shocked when the flower started to talk. "I wish everyone was out of the underground." It was such a somber voice. A child's voice, which spurred a question in Frisk's head. _‘Where were all the monster children?’_ they wondered. _‘Surely Monster Kid was not the only child here, right?’_

Sans watched as Frisk walked to another flower, seeing Monster Kid stand stationary in the corner of his eye socket. The young monster followed the human as they knelt to listen to another flower. "I hate that damn skeleton, and his brother." Skeleton? _‘Did they mean Sans?’_ The human frowned at the flower, going to another one that had a similar speech with a different monster's voice.

Almost all of them were like this. Blaming “a skeleton” for the loss of their freedom, and talking about another one like he was an idiot. Frisk huffed softly and tried to find a flower with a nicer tone.

The skeleton walked away from the flowers Frisk was listening to, the uncomfortable look still on his skull. He started to pass by one flower, but he stopped when the flower echoed a familiar voice. "I WANT EVERYONE TO STOP BEING NASTY TO MY BROTHER!” he heard it yell. “I DEMAND IT!" Sans didn't need to say who it was. He already knew. The skeleton felt a strong tug at his chest as he tried his best to hold back tears.

Sans hardly went into the Wishing Room, so he never would’ve thought he’d hear that. Coming from Papyrus, after all they had to do to keep his reputation in check. He gave the red flower a sad smile as he plucked it from the ground and pushed it into his jacket, hoping that the voice will continue to be echoed. Maybe if muffled by his jacket, no noise would make it disappear.

The human hurried back to Sans, dragging Monster Kid with them. Another question was plaguing their mind. They asked the skeleton why the flowers either spoke with sadness or with aggressiveness. "well, i guess they forgot how to repeat good things, kid," he replied with a shrug. Sans continued to walk forward as Frisk moved faster to walk beside him. He looked over to the human when they ask him what he meant.

"kid, if you've been down here as long as i have, you'd understand why there are so many negative echoes."

Frisk was wanting to ask more about the Echo Flowers, but the look on Sans' face stopped them from opening their mouth. They looked away from Sans and sighed softly, looking forward at the darkness. The human turned back to the skeleton after a moment, a slight smile on their face as they asked if they could make one of the Echo Flowers mimic them. "if... if you want, kid,” he chuckled. “i'll wait for ya." Sans stopped in his steps as Frisk nodded, running off to one of the crimson flowers.

The human knelt down to the nearest flower, thinking of something to say. When they started to speak, Monster Kid interrupted them. "Yo, I hear after you make a wish, you need to eat the Echo Flower!” they exclaimed, but quietly so. “It's suppose help the wish come true." The young monster smiled to themselves as Frisk nodded. _'A strange tradition… but, I'll indulge them.'_ Frisk turned back to the flower and said that they wished the goat monster didn't let them harm her… and they wished monsters were nicer to Sans.

"A... cool wish, I guess…” The young monster did not seem impressed by the wish in the slightest. “Now, you need to eat it!" Monster Kid was trying their best to keep their voice quiet so Sans didn't hear them.

Frisk plucked the flower from the ground and held it, staring at the bloomed bud. Sans disregarded the gesture because many monsters liked to take the Echo Flowers. However... When the human bit into the flower is when the skeleton started to panic, hurrying towards Frisk. "wait, kid!” he yelled. “don't swallow that!"

But, Frisk had already swallowed the bud, and at first was fine; however, they started to cough and held their neck.

Sans grimaced as he grabbed Frisk's chin, trying to pry open the human's mouth with his finger bones in hopes the flower wasn't too far down. His usually low and quiet voice was loud. "kid, open your mouth wide!" Frisk slowly opened their mouth as they coughed.

The skeleton couldn't see the flower at all. He even stuck his finger into Frisk's mouth to make them throw up, but he was a moment too late to stop the toxins from going into the human's digestive system. Soon that same thing happened: Frisk's SOUL shattered as their body disappeared like a cloud of smoke.

“not… again…”

Anger came rushing  into Sans like a tsunami as he turned to Monster Kid. The fire on his body flared up at a dangerous rate. "i thought i told you not to hurt frisk, you little shit!” he growled as he summoned bones, all of a different sharpness. “was i not clear enough for you?" The skeleton snapped his finger bones as the sharp bones flew at the young monster, missing them when they disappeared too. The same like last time. The process was really pissing him off.

Sans growled as a Gaster Blaster appeared beside him. He blasted at the walls and whatever else he could hit in his vicinity. The ground, some of the Echo Flowers, the ceiling, the stalactites. Nothing was safe at that moment. Even as he slowly started to pant, the blasters kept firing. Until everything around him was charred and black.

The blasting slowly stopped as the skeleton panted heavily. He had gotten his anger out, but that only made him feel empty. Every time Frisk got… killed, it reminded him of Papyrus. And that feeling of being unable to help. Even though he desperately wanted to. The Gaster Blaster disappeared as Sans slowly sat onto the ground, his knees against his ribs as he sighed. He narrowed his dark eye sockets, the fire in the right socket dimming softly.

"they'll be back like last time, right?”

“they're going to be back, right?"

"please, let them come back."

Frisk opened their eyes to the same place they woke up when they drowned. The same crossroads to different paths. They felt that their stomach was upset, and that their throat was scratchy. They frowned as a cough came up. The human couldn't believe that they had to go all that way again to reach where they just were. A sudden nudge on their back make them jolt. "Yo! What's the hold up?"

The teen looked over their shoulder at Monster Kid, a confused look on their face. This happened twice, and yet the young monster still did not remember being somewhere else. Frisk frowned and shrugged as they told Monster Kid that they must have dozed off. "Yo! Don't you know that's dangerous?” they said with mild concern. “You never know what is lurking behind any corner."

The young monster laughed softly and nervously, clearly listening for the skeleton to make a remark. When they heard nothing, the monster turned to Frisk and leaned towards them. "That skeleton isn't here, is he?" they asked. Frisk was reluctant to answer, but the silence must have answered the young monster's question.

Monster Kid smiled wide and started to sound completely different. "Yo! That's good to hear!” Their voice had a hint of relief, and then confidence. “I was hoping that bag of bones would go away." Frisk couldn't believe what they heard. They told the young monster that they shouldn't talk about Sans like that. The monster scoffed, "I don't need to be nice to him, especially after what he did."

Frisk asked Monster Kid what they meant. The monster glanced over to Undyne's home's direction as they walked towards it. The human followed behind as the young monster started to talk, thinking that maybe they can turn the human against Sans. A satisfying vengeance if it worked. "Well, let's just say, he hurt one of my friends very badly," they said quietly.

Frisk's eyes widened slightly as they shot back a defense. They told the young monster that Sans wouldn't do that without a reason. They were sure of it. "Defending a monster you barely know?” they scoffed again. “Are you stupid?"

The young monster huffed, stopping once the two were at Undyne's house. "Yo! You don't know him the way I do,” they uttered.” He's probably the worst monster here in this place." Frisk thought silently as they walked around Monster Kid to see where they were. They asked where they brought them to. "You don't know who this is, yo?” the young monster asked. “Only the home of the late coolest monster here, Undyne."

_‘Undyne?’_ They didn't know who that was, but they sounded interesting.

A voice startled Frisk and Monster Kid, making both of them jump. "why are you two here?" The human turned their head slowly, seeing a dark figure behind them. "the person who lived here has been dead for years, so why are you here?" Frisk finally saw who was talking, it looked like a ghost as black as night with red facial features.

Frisk rubbed the back of their head nervously and told the ghost on impulse that they were on their way to a meet back up with a friend. And that they just walked over to see the house. The ghost was quiet for a long moment, then huffed, "if you have what you want, then leave." The human was slightly confused by the comment. Frisk opened their mouth to say something, but they were cut off by the ghost. "i said leave!"

"they're with me, napstablook." Napstablook turned around to see Sans standing behind them, his red eyes dark and seeming to stare right through them. "i'll take it from here." The ghost huffed again and floated back towards his home.

Frisk started to walk to Sans along with Monster Kid, but Sans stopped the both of them. "the monster kid stays here,” he spoke with a matter-of-fact tone, his demeanor darker than before. “i said they're only staying with us until we get out waterfall, and well, we're about out of waterfall." The skeleton glared at the young monster, then glanced towards Frisk. "i mean it. this kid isn't staying with us any longer."

Frisk frowned at Sans and told him that the young monster should be able to go with them. Sans crossed his arms. "look, little birdie,” he started, “i don't know why you're DYING to make friends, but i'm not." The skeleton was tired of games and was tired of Monster Kid being around. He was tired of seeing someone who was defenseless being killed multiple times. To him, it was torture. Hopeless torture. If the Monster Kid stayed with them, and if they killed Frisk a third time, he wouldn’t hold back when they returned.

It wouldn’t sit well with Sans if he killed another kid, but he’d do it.

He sighed softly and turned around. "i'll give you five minutes,” he said. “after that, we're leaving." Sans started to walk in the direction Napstablook flew off to.

When Sans was out of earshot, Monster Kid turned to Frisk. "Yo! He'll do to you what he did to my friend if you let him,” they whispered to the human. “Just remember that." The young monster pushed the human's back with their head, urging them to go.

"I hope you can defend yourself if that is ever to happen."

Frisk looked over their shoulder at the young monster as they slowly walked to Sans, skeptical about Monster Kid's warning. And yet, something inside them told them to steer clear of him. They felt their jacket pocket for the knife, sighing with relief when they feel it still against their chest.

They were dead set on not using it, but it was nice to know that it was there. Just in case...

The human glanced up at Sans while he stood against a wall between a house and the path leading out. His red eyes drifted towards Frisk slowly as he straightened his posture. "ready to go?" he asked. Frisk nodded as Sans turned and walked off, stopping to make sure that Frisk was following. When the human followed, the skeleton continued forward and walked towards his shortcut that lead to the end of Waterfall.

The two were quiet while they headed towards the shortcut, but after a few minutes, Frisk’s mind was elsewhere. They couldn’t stop thinking about the warning, and about Undyne. They were tempted to ask Sans, but they didn’t. With the look on his face, they’d ask later when he was calmer.


	8. But, I'm Not Scared

Getting to the end of Waterfall was faster than Frisk first thought. Sans' shortcut really was short; way too fast even. They passed by what looked like a cave before the human glanced towards the skeleton, frowning slightly as they did. The skeleton was more quiet, and the usual expression was more stern. He still looked angrier than normal.

Frisk thought for a moment as they tried to lighten up the mood, saying they were very impressed that Sans' shortcut was very short. "they usually are, frisk," was all he replied with.

Yeah. He was mad. The human glanced away from Sans and looked up at the sparking 'Welcome to Hotland' sign, making the human duck when some of the sparks started to fly. _‘Why is it so dangerous down here?’_

The area was starting to become hot, and Frisk could already feel the sweat on their forehead starting to form. Sans watched them in the corner of his eye socket as they unzipped their sweater jacket and took it off, folding it and holding it close to their chest. He was starting to protest and blush, but he didn't say anything after he saw that they had a dark gray short-sleeve shirt on. 

_**‘good, i guess,’**_ he thought to himself as he internally sighed with relief. _**‘that could have been dangerous.'**_ The skeleton looked away and huffed softly as he hid his face from Frisk, using the scarf to hide his cheekbones. _**‘geez, sans, what were you expecting, them to strip?’**_

The two of them headed towards a bridge over what Frisk saw was lava, before the silence was broken. "so, what did the monster brat say?" The sudden sound of Sans' voice made them look towards him. Frisk opened their mouth to say something, but they stayed silent. What would he do if they told him what Monster Kid said? Would he attack them or the young monster?

When the human didn't say anything, Sans continued, "let me guess... they told you that i harmed their 'friend', that i did it for no reason?" Frisk looked away and started to say something, but Sans interrupted them. "at least look at me if you're going to tell me!" His voice was louder again. The human winced and looked towards the skeleton, their heart and SOUL starting to race.

Sans glared at Frisk, another huff escaping his mouth. He saw how fast their SOUL was beating, a sight he didn’t think he’d see. Not with the too calm human that wasn’t fazed by anything up until now. "they told you i would do something to you, huh, little birdie?" he asked. The human looked scared and uncomfortable as the silence was starting to anger Sans, and the usually calm beat of their SOUL was beating hard like a drum. It was starting to drive him crazy. He wasn’t use to that beat coming from Frisk.

When the two were finally off of the bridge, Sans stopped Frisk. He quickly grabbed their neck and held it tightly enough to keep them in place with his hand. But, he kept his grip loose enough as to not choke the human.

Frisk’s eyes widened at that, surprised more than anything at the sudden grip. "are you afraid of me, frisk?” he asked lowly, his voice sending a shiver down their spine. Their knuckles started turning white from gripping their jacket. “would it make you feel better if i left you alone here?”

“be honest with me..."

Frisk opened their mouth to tell him that they were fine being around him, that they felt safer with him around. But, no matter how much they wanted to tell him that… No matter what their SOUL was telling them to say… No words would come out.

Only a faint and force “ahh” came out.

Sans' anger-filled expression turned sad at the silence. He let go of Frisk's neck and looked away from them, his gaze drifting over towards where the royal scientist’s lab was located. He pointed towards the direction, the fire on his body dimmer than normal.

"if you go straight that way and go to the left path, there's an elevator that should help you get to the core," the skeleton said as he turned around and started to go back to where they came from.

"glad to have met cha, kid."

Frisk frowned and out-stretched their hand towards Sans as they started to run after him, but he seemed to vanish from their view. They slowed to a complete stop as they lowered their head for a moment.

_ ‘Why didn’t I say anything?’ _

_ ‘I’m not afraid of him…’ _

_ ‘I’m not…’ _

_ ‘So then… why, did I freeze?’ _

They raised their head as they turned and started to walk towards the direction Sans told them to go. Whatever fear that was once in their mind was replaced with their SOUL aching, and then their fear of being alone surfaced. Frisk’s body trembled despite the heat as they held their jacket close to them. It was at the point of them hugging it tightly.

They passed by a star, a checkpoint, between a four-way path. The human looked to the right, seeing nothing but water. Odd, but most things in the underground was odd. Frisk started to turn to the left, but the path in the middle struck their interest.

It piqued their morbid curiosity.

A big "LAB" sign beckoned them. Frisk knew that Sans told them to go the left, but something in them told them to go to the lab. The human was kind of scared, but they moved forward and walked into the building. It felt like someone else was controlling their actions. Once their curiosity was satiated, they would go back for sure.

It was dark in the room they walked into as the door closed behind them, except for a small light on what looked like a desk with a large monitor. The monitor was brightly lit and blinded Frisk of whatever else was in the room, showing several little screens on it. Frisk walked forward and moved towards the monitor. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

Live feed of places they've been and places they didn't even go to yet.

Frisk glanced down at the desk. Papers of different kind were all over. They picked up one and tried to read it, but it looked too hastily wrote that they couldn’t read much. Just a few words like “deter”, “vial”, and human”. Everything else was illegible.

They placed the paper back down and glanced to the right. There a was cup of... something. The human couldn't tell what was in the cup as they picked it up. All Frisk could tell was that it smelled rancid. They nearly dropped it when they heard a loud crash and something like screaming coming from below them. They placed the cup back down on the desk and moved away as they hear footsteps coming up what sounded like stairs, looking for a place to hide.

A sound of a door opening and someone sighing softly stopped them dead in their tracks. "Useless,” they heard someone say. “They're completely useless!" Frisk backed up slightly, but they hit something behind them.

The figure in the dark room glanced to the right and looked straight at Frisk, the light from the monitor reflecting off of something. "If that's you, traitor, I'm calling the guards!" The figure turned and flipped a switch. "Haven't you taken enough from m--?” Suddenly, there was a long and confused pause. “Oh, y-you're not who I was expecting."

The human was surprised to see a yellow monster, with features that looked lizard-like, that was a few inches shorter than them. They were quite relieved that it wasn't a bigger monster, but the fire around her head and on her hand made them question if she was a threat. It seemed to hint at something unfriendly, anyway.

Frisk took a deep breath and smiled, asking the monster if the Core was close to the building. The reptilian monster was quiet for a moment before she gave the human a toothy grin. "Indeed,” she said. “It is very close if you know your way around Hotland."

The monster walked over to the desk and grabbed the cup, bringing it to her lips and gulping down whatever was in there. They could barely see a name tag that had the name 'Dr. Alphys' on it. The reptilian monster wiped her face before the human could see what she drank. Alphys let out a content 'ahhh' after drinking the contents of the cup, before glancing to Frisk. They could have sworn they saw red before she wiped her face.

Alphys gave Frisk another grin as she turned to them, "I-if you'd follow me downstairs, I'll give you a map of the Core." The yellow reptilian monster turned around and walked back to the door she came from.

Frisk took a step back and started to turn around to leave, but Alphys beckoned the human to follow her. “D-d-don’t worry, we won’t be long,” she promised. The human gulped as they walked toward Alphys. They were sure they needed to keep their guard up around her.

She opened the door and headed downstairs with Frisk.

If not for the light that Alphys gave off, Frisk wouldn't have been able to see much. They asked if the map was far. "Oh, no-not too far," she replied.

As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Alphys glanced to Frisk as she walked forwards. "Just give me a moment to open the main doors." The human nodded and instinctively walked towards the massive glass doors.

Before the doors were fully open, Frisk was pushed through them.

They fell forward and dropped their jacket, almost hitting their face on the floor. But they caught themselves with their right hand before they did. They looked over their shoulder, seeing the doors close behind them. The human quickly got up and pressed up to the doors, their eyes wide with fear. They banged on the glass and yelled for Alphys to open them. She didn't seem to notice Frisk screaming for her to help, instead she hurried off towards Asgore's throne room.

"A-a human.”

“H-h-human for Asgore to take.”

“I hope he'll let me play with the human before he takes their S-SOUL."

“...Another hum-human the traitor was guarding…”

Frisk heard her speaking, but they couldn’t decipher any of the words through the glass. As soon as Alphys was out of their sight, so was the only bright light they had. They trembled slightly as they stood in the dark and hoped she was joking and would come back. But, they felt that she wouldn’t.

Frisk turned and picked up their jacket as they walked to the right towards the wall, holding their hands on it. The only other source of light they had was the small fire on the back of their left shoulder, but it was barely enough to help them navigate along the wall.

Fear was welling up inside them again as they cautiously walked, their heart beating fast again. Without them realizing it, the human was whimpering Sans' name as they continued on. They paused as they heard something shuffling in the corner of the room. _‘What was that? I can't see what that was.’_ Frisk could only see the outline of the thing in the room. It looked too big to the human and it looked like it's getting closer to them.

_ ‘If I'm still, it should leave me alone.’ _

_ ‘It'll leave me alone.’ _

A chill ran up Frisk's spine as they felt the heat of someone's or something's breath, something akin to a soft wind hitting their face and the top of their head. They heard a dripping sound as they took a sharp breath. They were too scared to do anything else.

They braced for whatever was to come as they felt whatever was there get closer.

Frisk jumped as they felt a bunch of fur hit their cheek, a small abnormal whimper coming from the being in front of them. The human tilted their head in a confused manner, moving their hands towards the creature. It was surprisingly soft to the touch.

_ ‘Like a…’ _

They looked up towards the creature in front of them and reached for what looked like its head, petting it lightly.

A smile grew on the human's face when they heard what sounded like a bark. They tenderly pat what they assumed was a very large dog, wondering it why was there in the dark. Even though they saw that its outline has too many legs, and looked like it just has a single mouth for a face, they found the monster quite cute.

It barked again, more dripping coming from its face area. It really was like a dog.

They smiled wider as they asked the dog monster if it knew how to get out of the lab. Another bark was heard as the “dog” turned and started to walk forward slowly, allowing Frisk to hold onto a bunch of its fur and use it as a seeing eye dog of sorts. At least it was willing to help.

It was the second person or thing that seemed to be happy to have them around.


	9. The Real Lab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I have another done, I'll be putting up part 10 today, as well. It might be a little later, or it might be in a hour or two. Depends on how lazy I am.
> 
> *on only four hours of sleep, but wants to keep writing anyway*

It felt like hours since the human met the dog monster. They were happy that the monster was willing to help, but they were still not liking the darkness around them. Luckily for the human, some small dim lights were near the floor in most of the hallways when they went further inside the lab.

Frisk gave up on calling for help a while ago. It seemed like the walls of the place were soundproof, so it looked like they were going to have to help themselves. With the help of the monster, at least. They glanced over and smiled at the mass of fur, gently petting it as they walked. The monster's barks seemed to boom into the human's ear. It was loud, yet comforting.

The teen halted as they came to a room full of beds, the large dog following suit. All of the beds were broken in several spots, and all of the bed sheets were severely torn.

_ ‘What happened here?’ _

Frisk walked close to one of the beds and glanced around it. On closer inspection, the bed was stained with marks burnt into the fabric and ash. The human frowned to themselves, moving away from the bed. A small hum and a soft green light caught their eye as they glanced over to the far wall. It was a light that didn't match the other lights in the lab. They narrowed their eyes and slowly walked over to investigate.

As they got closer to the faint green light, they saw it was a small monitor on the wall. Frisk tilted their head and reached out to touch the monitor, jolting back slightly when it suddenly turned on. They stared at the monitor for a minute, their eyes slowly adjusting to the light. They tried to make out some of the words, but the only words they could see were "failures", "useless", and "determination".

They inched their head closer to the screen and hoped to make out the rest, but a faint noise caught their attention. _‘What is that? Is that... crying?’_ The human moved from the monitor and looked around the room.

The large dog monster turned to the sound and pawed lightly at one of the beds.

The crying was now whimpering as Frisk’s eyes darted around for the source of the sound. It sounded like it was coming from one of the beds. Curious, they turned and walked to the bed in the middle of the closest row. The human knelt in front of the bed frame and leaned down to look under the bed. Their eyes widened slightly. It looked like a fish hiding under the bed, a small light near its face.

The sight scared them for a brief moment, but the surprised gasp and soft crying broke their fear. Frisk shook their fear away as they soon gave the small fish a kind smile and beckoned the monster to come out.

The small monster was reluctant to move out from under the bed, but after a moment the monster floated out. The fish glanced up to Frisk, a small noise escaping her throat. They could barely hear words, and the words seemed to fade out.

"Who are you?" It was a pitiful sound, one that you need to be face to face to hear and understand it. It almost sounded like whispered singing. Frisk told her their name and gave her a comforting smile, asking the fish monster what her name was. She was quiet, before replying with, "Shyren."

_ ‘Shyren…’ _

Frisk asked Shyren why she was under the bed. This resulted in more silence, until she mustered up the courage to speak again. "I thought you were that doctor," she whispered. They tilted their head slightly, pondering at the word "doctor". They wondered if she meant the yellow monster that locked them down there.

The human thought silently and held their hand on their chin, glancing away from the fish monster. They looked back and smiled again, holding out their arms. Frisk asked Shyren if she wanted to escape with them and the dog monster. "Dog?" she asked. Frisk nodded at the question and pointed at the large dog monster.

They were still pawing one of the beds.

Shyren's gaze drifted to the dog monster, her dark eyes widening slightly. "En-en-endog-dog-dogen-en-eny-y-y?" The dog monster perked up at the small voice of Shyren, before it started running and lunging towards her. Frisk moved her out of the way before she was squashed by Endogeny.

Endogeny barked loudly at Shyren and Frisk, wagging its massive tail. It seemed happy to see Shyren. The fish monster smiled wide and sighed softly with relief at the sight of the large dog, then she turned back to Frisk. "I..." she thought about her words carefully, before giving the human a worried smile. "...will follow you, and try to help you get out."

The fish monster gave Frisk a small smile, before speaking up again, "Might I ask one more thing of you, though?" Frisk nodded at the question and asked what Shyren needed. "Well, I'd be much slower than you and Endogeny, so... might you carry me?"

The human was quick to accept and they told the fish monster that they would be happy to carry her. Shyren's eyes brightened up slightly, her smile widening. "Thank you, Frisk," she whispered. The human smiled and gently picked up the small fish monster, placing her on their head.

"But, human…”

”Won't I fa--"

Shyren stopped talking when Frisk put their jacket back on and pulled their hood over their head and over Shyren, making sure she was secure. They told Shyren it may not be the best spot, but at least they will know where she is. She slowly relaxed on top of their head, surprised by the human's kindness. But, she smiled again and slightly nodded as she spoke once more, "Alright, Frisk. I will help as best as I can."

Frisk slowly stood up and turned to Endogeny, asking the dog monster if it knew where the three of them should go. The monster appeared to nod slightly, walking towards the door that was behind Frisk as they passed a star. Frisk made sure to gently grab hold of the monster's fur so they would not get lost.

Frisk glanced to the right and saw a room full of dark mirrors. They were tempted to go there, but they quickly looked away. _'I can't get distracted in a place like this,'_ they willed to themselves. Endogeny turned to the right as they passed the door and it lowered its head slightly. It was growling softly as they approached a room full of large running fans.

_ ‘What's wrong, big guy?’ _

Frisk frowned at the large dog monster, petting its side to try and calm it down. The monster kept growling and it was getting deeper and louder. The human sighed softly and turned to the running fans. They could faintly see the light of... _'Lava!'_

The lava of Hotland was just out of reach. Frisk smiled wide at the sight, determined to get out and try to find... The human's smile faltered for a moment when they thought of Sans.

_ ‘Would he still be mad at me?’ _

_ ‘I wouldn't blame him if he is.’ _

Frisk shook their head, driving their thoughts away.

They looked to the right of the fans, noticing a switch with a wire connecting to the them. Frisk walked over to the switch and flipped it, turning the large fans off. They turned from the switch and walked towards the fans. They hoped to squeeze through to get out of the dark lab.

Before they were able to get in the vent, the fans turned back on. Frisk jumped back and their eyes widened, their SOUL pumping from the sudden scare. They huffed softly as Endogeny barked loudly and growled, staring intently near where the three came from. "En-en-endog-dog-dogen-en-eny-y-y?" the fish monster whispered as she turned to look at the large dog monster.

Frisk glanced towards Endogeny and then to the hallway, unable to see what was down there. They tried to strain their eyes and focus. After a minute, they were barely able to see a figure. Endogeny growled louder as the figure seemed grow closer.

They could faintly hear voices, but the voices were so distorted that it was hard for Frisk to know what was being said. "H-human..." Frisk backed up as Shyren trembled, she was shaking around and trying to get the human’s attention. "Human, please, we need to get out of this place.” Her voice was full of fear.

_ ‘What are they saying?’ _

_ ‘It’s so hard to hear.’ _

_ ‘“Come with us!”?’ _

_ ‘Is that what they’re saying?’ _

Frisk turned back to the switch and moved it, trying to turn the fans back off. The figure in the distance was getting closer and the large dog monster's head lowered as it got ready to attack. On. Off. On. Off. Frisk was panicking at this point, fear in their eyes as they tried to will the switch to work. On. Off. On. Off.

After a stressful moment, the fans finally turned off.

By the time they did, the figure was in area of touch. Frisk lightly bit their bottom lip, too scared to move. The... whatever it was... looked strange to Frisk. They were like a mangled mess of monsters. The strange monster moved close to Frisk and Shyren, but it was stopped by Endogeny. The dog monster growled loudly and its bark seemed like a roar as it stared the other monster down.

Frisk gasped softly and told the dog monster to not fight, but it weren’t budging. Shyren glanced down at Frisk. "We need to leave, Frisk!"

Frisk frowned at the monsters as they started throwing what they had at each other, whispering that they shouldn't have to fight. "Frisk, I know how you feel, but Endy is keeping that thing at bay so we can leave!" Shyren managed to shout.

Frisk shut their eyes and hurried through the gap between the halted fan blades. They hoped that Endogeny will be alright, and that the other monster would not perish. They took a deep breath, moving towards the light of the lava. Frisk stopped before they accidentally moved too far, looking down at the lava.

_ ‘What now?’ _

They glanced around the area for something, anything to help them get back up. Their eyes widened when they looked to the right. The formation to the right looked sturdy enough to stand on. Frisk took another deep breath and started to climb out of the vent. They veered to the right and grabbed onto one of the rocks protruding out of the formation, slowly climbing up. They hoped that they would be able to find Sans when they get up the cliff face.

That was, if they didn’t fall and have to go through all that again.

~

Dr. Alphys mumbled gleefully to herself as she glanced towards the large looming throne in the middle of the room. She planned on taking the human's SOUL for herself, but she decided to tell their king about them first. "Yo-your Highness!" she forced out.

A large pair of eyes looked down at the lizard monster, glaring at her. "What is it, Dr. Alphys?” a low voice asked. “This better be worth my time." The doctor grinned wide and nodded frantically. "Indeed, sire,” she could barely contain her glee. “A human has fallen down here, and I have locked them in my lab." Alphys was awaiting praise as she waited for the king to answer her. "Doctor, then why didn't you bring them with you?"

Alphys wasn’t expecting that response. She shook slightly, panicking a little. She knew what their king was capable of, so she wanted to stay on his good side. "I... I will retrieve them and bring them here immediately!"

"See to it that you do, Dr. Alphys. I will not tolerate more of your insolence."

The lizard monster nodded again and hurried back to her lab, leaving the king to think to himself. "A human?” he asked himself. “Perhaps the last human I need."

The king grinned wide, licking his lips. He felt that the day he finally got revenge and destroyed all human life was very near. He tightened his grip on his trident, growing impatient and antsy. He couldn't wait much longer, to tear that human's SOUL right out of their body.

How long had it been since the last humans were there? A couple years, months, a decade? He couldn’t remember. But he believed he didn’t have to. Although some were small children, he would be sure to use their SOULs to destroy the barrier. That way, at least, they reversed what their ancestors did.

Asgore glanced to the side, staring at the seven containers of only five SOULs. He leered at one of the empty containers.

“What about the seventh?” he asked out loud. “Thanks to the skeleton, I still need one last one… unless…” The king grew quiet as he held his chin and hummed to himself, pondering about something.

“I wonder... if that could still work…”


	10. Reunited For Good

It was only a couple of minutes before Sans returned to the cross roads. He didn't go too far from where he left Frisk. Something in him told him to come back for them, even though he was still a little hurt.

"what's wrong with me?” he said under his breath. “i shouldn't have left like that..." The fact that the human perished in one hit scared him enough, but to leave them alone with monsters who had lost their senses... The skeleton shook his skull, trying to drive the thoughts away. "whenever they're ready, i'll get them,” he spoke with a lighter tone. “if they’re still around here, anyway."

Sans sat on the edge of the cliff face as he watched the lava underneath him. He huffed softly and waited patiently, as best as he was mentally able, hoping that Frisk would appear back at his side. Sans just wanted them to come back so he can keep them safe. To help prevent them from dying.

**_‘like I’m doing a good job with THAT,'_ ** his self-mocking thoughts crawled their way into his head. **_‘what if they don’t come back next time?’_** Sans growled at his thoughts and had the sudden urge to punch himself in the face. Because, the fact was, he felt like he wasn’t doing a good job helping them.

He continued to watch the lava but looked away when his eye sockets started to hurt, not being use to staring at something so bright. A sound coming from his left caught his attention, but it was not who he was hoping it would be.

The skeleton glanced towards the left, towards Alphys’ lab and saw the doctor walk out. She was snickering to herself and mumbling. Sans looked away and shrugged. That wasn't too strange at that point, but one phrase made his bones rattle. "A-another human for Asgore,” she muttered, just enough for Sans to hear. “The last one he needs."

His eye sockets widened at the word "human", knowing exactly what Alphys was talking about. Sans quickly got up and grinded his sharp teeth as he teleported towards Alphys, standing in her way of the castle.  Sans startled the doctor with his sudden appearance as she let out a surprised gasp. He gave her a menacing smile. "heya, BASS,” the words seeped out of his mouth like smoke. “what's the hurry?" Alphys trembled a little and wondered if she should call the guards, "W-what do you want, S-Sans?"

The smile widened on his face as Sans crossed his arms and stared at the lizard monster. "oh, i couldn't help but overhear something FISHY that you said,” he replied.

Alphys tried putting up a strong front, gulping slowly. "I d-don't know what you mean," she mumbled as her trembling worsened. Sans closed his eye sockets and huffed softly. They quickly snapped back open as he moved one of his hands. He roughly grabbed the doctor's head with his finger bones, gripping it tightly. The flames of Sans' right eye socket seemed to be bigger and poured into the other socket as he glared at Alphys.

"don't play dumb with me, doc,” he said with a voice that the lizard was not use to. “unless you want me to tear open your skull, you're going to tell me where the human is."

The doctor's body shook more and she winced as the skeleton tightened his grip. Pain rushed through her head as she cried out for the royal guards near her home. Sans' eyes drifted towards the two guards as they started to approach him, before he glanced back to Alphys. He growled under his breath and, while digging deeper into her head with his fingers, threw her towards the two guards.

His gaze stayed on her for a long while. "fine,” he whispered. “go tell king assfluff about the human, but also tell him that he's not laying a finger on them while i have anything to say about it."

With that, Sans teleported away and left Alphys to quickly find Frisk. He teleported in the doctor's lab and thought for a moment. "where would i put someone if i wanted to lock them up and hope that they wouldn't get out?" He continued to think to himself, but soon his eyes drifted towards the door to the real Lab.

_**‘well, that IS a place to keep someone locked up in.’** _

_**‘really, where else would she put them and not forget?’** _

Sans was slightly happy that he somewhat knew a few things about being locked up and that he knew his way around the Lab. It was a place he and his brother spent most of their childhood. A place he was not happy going back into.

But, if it was for Frisk, he was alright with going back down into his cage.

Sans hurried down the stairs and turned around the corner, careful as to not trip and fall. As he reached the area with the locking mechanism, a soft gasp escaped his mouth when he saw that it was on. "so, you WERE put down here..." he muttered. He huffed with mild relief as he walked to the mechanism.

Sans stared at the panel with “hands” on it. He held out his left hand and held it there for a moment. He took a deep breath and put the code he remembered in to hopefully open it.

"let’s see… was it this…?”

[Bomb, six-point star, thumbs up, sun, pointing left, peace sign, snowflake, high five, square flag, skull and crossbones, droplet, mailbox with no mail, bomb, six-point star, droplet, square flag, skull and crossbones, droplet.]

As he pushed the last button, a satisfying ‘ding’ rang in his ears as the light on the panel turned from red to blue. He was half surprised that still it worked. "pffff... you didn't even change HIS code, doc," Sans laughed to himself. “and you call yourself a genius.” He tsked at her idiocy as he shook his head disapprovingly. He turned and started to walk down the corridor.

Because of how many flames Sans had, the hallways were better lit. Albeit for him everything was red because of it. Even with the fact he could see, he still wasn't happy about walking around the place. "ugh... the place still gives me the creeps..." he said quietly. “frisk, you around!” A chill crawled up his spine as he continued to walk, the halls echoing as he called out Frisk's name again.

When there wasn't any replies back, Sans was both half relieved and half scared. He wondered if Frisk had made it out of the Lab already or if they were just hiding. "little birdie, if you can hear me, please come out!" he yell out.

Only the skeleton's echo replied to his demand. "dammit, frisk,” Sans whispered. “are you even still here?" He continued to check around the hidden lab and checked every nook and cranny. He was quick about it, but he tried to be as thorough as his patience was willing to allow. All he managed to find were dirty beds and ash. With an occasional pile of goop. A remnant of what became of many of the sick monsters there. Or healthy ones that wanted to visit. He wished he had the heart at the time to warn them of Alphys. Not that they would’ve believed him anyway.

After a seemingly long inspection, Sans sighed again and turned around as he walked back towards the stairs.

Sans walked up them from the the hidden Lab and walked out of the back door of Alphys' lab. "come on, kid,” his voice was a little scratchy from the yelling. “where did you run off to?" Panic was starting to come back to him as he started hurrying his pace. Sans ran only for a few moments, before he started teleporting instead. Sweat was already starting to roll down his skull as he teleporting around Hotland, glancing in every direction for Frisk as he did.

~

By the fifteenth shortcut, he had almost passed by the human since they were quiet and down near the ground. But a soft snore gave them away. Sans glanced over to the source of the sound as his eye sockets widened.

Frisk was near the checkpoint of that area and was on their side, sleeping with Shyren in their arms. "so this is where you went," Sans spoke quietly. It seemed clear to him that maybe they were there, waiting for him.

**_‘why else would they still be in this part of hotland?’_ **

He sighed with relief and smiled at the sleeping human as his left eye flashed. "don't you know this is the worst place to take a nap?" Sans chuckled as picked up Frisk by their SOUL and held them up, moving them behind him.

A soft gasp made him look over his shoulder, seeing Shyren perk her head up and stare at Sans. She started to speak, but Sans held his index finger bone in front of his lipless mouth. "no need to say anything, shy,” he said softly. “just hop in little birdie's hood, and try not to fall out." Shyren nodded slowly and wiggled out of Frisk's arms, making them stir a little as she moved into the human's hood.

Sans waited for Shyren to get snug in Frisk's hood before he moved the human by their SOUL, taking their arms and wrapping them over his shoulders. He grabbed their legs and gently held them, adjusting their weight so he could easily carry them.

He thought for a moment, wondering where they could go. He was weighing his options as he started to walk, the walk slow enough for Shyren to fall back to sleep.

The skeleton grinded his sharp teeth again, glancing around the area. Maybe he could head to the the CORE and try to pass Asgore as quickly and as quietly as they could. Sans and Frisk could leave together, and they could bring back discarded humans SOULS for the monsters that still had their minds. That was easier said than done, though. Considering that Asgore most likely would keep an eye out for them.

Sans huffed and told himself that he would deal with it when the time came. Right now, his top priority was getting Frisk and Shyren away from Alphys' lab.

He started to teleport from location to location, careful to only use small spurts of magic to get the three of them around Hotland. If he used too much, he might not be able to use anymore for of it for a while. That was something he did not want to happen.

Not when they were so close.

~

Sans soon reach the former home of one of the only friends he had in the underground.

Disheveled webs of Muffet's spiders hung across the ceiling, and her wannabe bakery stand was in pieces. Sans couldn't stand the sight. He remembered what she did to help the other monsters get food. What she did to the spiders that she would often call her children… just to care for others.

It always left an aching feeling in his chest whenever he ventured around that way. Sans always cleaned up the mess on the floor from the destroyed stand. But every time he did, someone would come and make a mess of it again. Eventually, Sans just gave up on trying to keep it clean. At least he managed to collect her dust and spread it across her spiders' nest.

That gave him some comfort.

Sans tried his best to not disturb the untouched webs out of respect, giving an occasional "sorry" when he stepped on one. "sorry about the webs, muff," Sans whispered as he forced a rather sad smile. He quickened his pace and walked further on. He wanted to get passed this area as fast as possible, but a little swinging ball moved in his way. At first Sans started to move out of the way, but after seeing what it was he smiled slightly.

Three more ball-looking objects came down as if greeting Sans. "hey, little guys,” he laughed. “i'm surprised to see you all in ONE PIECE."

He chuckled again when he finally saw the small spiders, but it died down quickly as his face had a very serious look. "you guys need to hide before any monsters see you,” he told them, his voice still hushed. “if anything happened to anymore of you, muff would grind me into BONE MEAL."

The spiders continued to watch him for a moment, but they soon jumped onto Sans' skull. All of them crawled down, making the skeleton chuckle a little from their tiny legs scurrying on him. They buried themselves in the fluff of his jacket. "are... you wanting to come with us?" he asked.

Sans looked over his shoulder at the spiders, tilting his head a little to the side. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe they don't want to be alone. That they had nothing if they stayed there.

He was sure that Muffet would have wanted them to be free anyway.

Sans softly smiled and shrugged. "your funeral, guys,” he said. “i can't really promise anything to you four." The spiders shifted and seemed to latch onto the fluff of his jacket. Like they were anchoring themselves. The spiders appeared to not be letting go anytime soon.

He turned his head back and walked passed the bit of what use to be Muffet’s parlor. Her nest and home. Sans murmured a last goodbye for the spider as he teleported towards the broken down part of Hotland. Just a little more, and then they’d reach the CORE. That much closer to their freedom.

Sans could taste it already.

~

Alphys returned to her lab, a wide smile on her face. She so very excited for what was to come, she could barely contain herself. "No-now to get the human," she mumbled. She turned to her desk and fumbled through the top drawer. After a moment, the doctor pulled out a syringe full of purplish blue liquid. The side of it had "sleep" written on it in a cute font.

The doctor headed towards the door that lead downstairs and gleefully hurried down. “Alr-alright, human, I ju-just need your a-a-arm real quick~!” When she got on the final step, surprise immediately appeared in her eyes. The locking mechanism was off. "W-wait... I did turn that o-- Oh no,” pure panic was surfacing fast in her mind. “No no no no, King Asgore is not going to be happy about this!"

Alphys held her right hand to her face, lightly chewing at her fingers nervously. "He's going to be so mad…” she grumbled as she breathed in and out slowly. “Unless..."

Alphys darted back upstairs. She tripped on the second to last stair going up, but she quickly got up and hurried over to the large monitor. She stepped in front of it and looked around each monitor. Alphys couldn’t see Sans or the human on any of the monitors at the moment, but she got an idea for when she did. "M-maybe I can just... manipulate the way so they get right t-to King Asgore?"

She thought long about it, then decided. Alphys flipped a switch under the monitor. All the places she could see with her cameras were covered in traps, all mostly harmless. If they went where she wanted them to go.


	11. Blood Fire

The resort, if it could still be called that, was quiet as Sans and the others approached. The place was run down to the ground after the monster that was often there disappeared. It left some monsters that still lingered there with a ton of space.

He wondered where that monster went, the one Papyrus admired from afar. The one that would often bring the SPIRITS of others up. If just slightly. He remembered how the ghost would brag about how he would make it big and probably be a "star" on the surface when the barrier was destroyed. "it's so quiet now..." Sans whispered.

To Sans, not many people being around was a good thing. It would make traversing through the Core much easier, especially since Frisk and Shyren were still asleep on his back. But, it was still disheartening that most of the monsters there fled. He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping human, thinking quietly to himself.

_**‘you must be exhausted from all of the running around and... dying.’** _

He flinched at the word as he shook the thoughts from his head, heading to the entrance that lead into the next area. They’re going to be fine. They’re going to be safe. He’d kill to make sure of it.

"kid, i don't know what sort of magic you have to keep reviving, but i'll try and make sure it doesn't keep happening."

Despite knowing freedom was close, the skeleton was anxious. He knew what will happen when he reached the kingdom. The place guarding the barrier. Sans didn't think the king would just let them through, and would probably try to kill Frisk.

Sans’ grip slowly tightened on the human's legs, slightly shaking from making himself angry. "no... he's not laying a finger on ya, little birdie,” he declared. “even if he does, i’ll make him regret it, for both you and pap.”

“that's the one thing i can i promise."

~

Darkness. Blackness, interlaced with red, engulfed Frisk and dragged them deep. It was almost suffocating. Frisk opened their mouth to scream, but nothing would come out. They tried to scream out Sans' name. Again, nothing was coming out of their throat.

Were they dying?

_‘Is this what dying feels like?’_

Truly dying...

"Please, relax,” they heard someone or something say. “You are not dying."

Frisk glanced around the darkness, trying to locate the source of the voice. From what they could see, no one was around. Another voice joined in. "Are you sure you should be talking to them?" This voice sounded disgruntled and annoyed, similar to how a teenager sounded when told to do something. "Nonsense,” the softer voice replied. “Now is a good time as any."

Frisk heard a soft giggle before they finally forced out their voice and tried asking who the voices were, still feeling panicky as they spoke again. The more cheery voice seemed to notice the panic as they started speaking in a more soothing tone.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure this is weird for you,” it said. “You can call me Chara, and this sourpuss is named Asriel~" The rougher voice growled at the other, "Shut up, Chara!" Another giggle was heard. Frisk asked the two voices where they were, resulting in a silent response.

After a moment, Chara spoke up. "Well, we are not very sure,” they said. “We don't have physical forms anymore, so we really wouldn't be able to appear if we wanted to." The voice seemed quieter than usual as the other started to talk. "You can probably refer to us as lost SOULs or ghosts, because that's pretty much what we are."

Frisk was slightly confused.

_‘Ghosts?’_

_‘Why are there ghosts here?’_

_‘Actually… where is here?’_

As if they could hear Frisk's thoughts, the first voice nervously responded, “He’s joking, somewhat.” They heard a tsk and felt a weird sensation in their chest for just a second. “We may not have our real forms anymore, but would you like to see us?” Chara asked.

Frisk thought for a long moment, thinking it over. They were trying to process what the voices were telling them so far. The dark wasn’t choking them as much, but something crawled its way into their mind. Instead of answering Chara’s question, they threw out another question: “Where are we right now?”

Another silent moment.

Asriel chimed in immediately that time. His tone was harsh, but Frisk could tell he just wanted to be blunt. It almost felt like he was waiting for that question. “To put it  as simple as I can, we are in your SOUL,” he sounded like Frisk should have known that already. “As your friend out there has said, your SOUL makes up you.”

_‘But, why am I here?’_

Frisk could practically hear a heavy sigh, “Every time you have to “start over”, your consciousness ends up here, but only for a second.”

“But… seems like this time is different.”

Frisk attempted to make a nod of confirmation that they kind of understood, but then they felt a shot of pain. Their SOUL pulsed harshly, painfully against their ribs. It felt like something was pushing hard against their chest.

Chara could feel the discomfort as their voice sounded both concerned and anxious.

"Please, stay calm,” Chara said, “If you panic, you'll wake up before we have a chance to tell you about Asgore." But, despite the warning, the human was pulled from the black.

Before they were completely out of the void, they could still hear the two talking. "I don't think they will win against Dad, Chara." "It's alright. I know they can get through it."

There also seemed to be one other voice mixed with the other two. But, it was so distorted that they wondered if there were words at all.

~

Frisk's eyes slowly opened, feeling disoriented for a long moment. Where were they? They glanced around and tried to move, but they were constricted. And yet, not. It wasn’t until they blink several times that they realized where they were, and why the area was moving when they clearly weren't walking. The human softly whispered Sans' name.

The skeleton must have noticed the stirring and the whisper, because he stopped and looked over his shoulder again. "oh, god, you’re awake!” he let out the longest sigh Frisk had heard yet. “i thought you'd be out for days if i let you."

“had me worried to DEATH.”

He opened his sharp mouth to tell them something, but Frisk spoke up first. He was shocked that what came out was a quiet apology. “sorry?” Sans asked. “what are you sorry for?” It was a bit hard to hear them, but he could hear some stuff clearly. Sans narrowed his eye sockets as they told him they were sorry about earlier, that they were only afraid of what he’d do if they had said what Monster Kid told them.

Frisk said they were sorry that they froze up when he asked if he scared them. He could hear their voice slowly cracking, and it was starting to make his SOUL hurt. “tch... forgetaboutit, kiddo,” he said through a forced smile. “do NOT be sorry. at all.”

He didn’t care about that at the moment. He was just glad Frisk was back within his grasp, back in his care.

Sans sighed softly before he turned back to the path ahead of them. He glanced up as he saw a couple of Alphys' cameras. He growled under his breath, quickening his pace. "listen,” Sans said softly, “all we got to do is go past this area and one other one, then we can get out of this hell hole."

Sans sounded both ecstatic and worried at the same time. He opened his mouth to say something again, but a loud noise caught his attention. The skeleton looked in the direction of the noise, his eye sockets widening when he saw what it was. "damn... she doesn't know when to quit."

The human glanced at Sans, asking him what was wrong as he hurried along. "no time, little birdie,” he whispered. “let's just say if we don't hurry out, we're going to be sliced and diced." Sans grinded his teeth as sweat starting to roll down his skull, glancing up at the lasers powering up above them.

Not good.

The skeleton would try to teleport out of harm's way. But with this many people with him and fatigue certain, that would be a hard thing to do at the moment. Before he could think at all, he just made a break for it with help of his magic. He could just take a nap before they got to the castle.

Right?

Still using small spurts of magic, Sans half ran and half teleported through the orange and blue lasers. All of them almost got hit by a blue one because Sans had to skid to a stop. The commotion had woken up Shyren and had cause Frisk to hold their face in Sans’ jacket, afraid to watch. Luckily, Sans seemed to know what he was doing.

~

As all of them got past the lasers, Sans couldn’t help but let out another relieved exhale. But knowing Alphys and the king, there were more crap they would have to go through. Sans panted as quietly as he could to hopefully not alert Frisk that he was getting tired as he glanced over his shoulder at them once more.

"can you walk?” he exhale sharply as he asked. “all of you are killing my backbone." The human couldn't help but let out laugh as they nodded, moving from the skeleton's back as he slowly let go of their legs.

Sans huffed and slowly loosened his backbone. He glanced to the human and smiled, a hint of nervousness still in his red eyes. "kid, stick with me and we'll be out of here in no time,” he declared. “alright?" Frisk smiled back and nodded, glancing towards the direction they were going. It looked like there was a way for them to go left up ahead. They turned back to the skeleton and lightly took his hand after making sure Shyren was still with them.

The skeleton blushed at the contact, but he didn't try to retract his hand. He nervously chuckled, "i'll... uhh... lead the way, then." Sans slowly tightened his hold on the human's hand, starting to walk forward and turning left. He had only been in that area a few times, but he was ready to try his best to get them out.

When they got to a three-way fork in the road with a star in the middle of it, Sans grinded his sharp teeth again. "umm..." He glanced to the left and then to the right, then forward. The skeleton cursed at himself under his breath for not remembering his way around. He would just have to pick a side and hope for the best. Taking a quick breath, Sans turned to the right and started walking that way.

Another fork in the road met them.

"who the hell designed this place?" Sans asked with annoyance very clear in his words. The skeleton groaned with irritation as he glanced around and almost turned left, but a figure in the distance halted him. He froze for only a moment before he turned to the center hallway, walking up there instead.

They passed another hallway to the left, but they kept going forward and were greeted by a large room. A dead end. Sans turned back around, trying his best not to drag Frisk as he turned to the left of the dead end room. The human glanced over their shoulder to where the figure was. They asked Sans if they should ask them where to go.

Sans quickly shakes his skull. "nope, we don't need help from these people,” he simply said. “they've probably been here for years and probably wouldn't know their way around themselves." The last thing the skeleton wanted was getting the attention of feral monsters.

Before they even walked a few steps, a crackling sound was heard. A voice that Sans couldn't stand came on the intercom, glee in its tone. [“Ahem… Attention, monsters still residing in the Core! Good news! The king has offered a big reward for the first monster to capture or the take the SOUL of the human and bring it here to him!] The skeleton's eye sockets widened, glancing at the now peering eyes. [The human is with the traitor of monsters, so have at them! The king doesn't want the skeleton, so do with him what you will! That is all~!]

_**‘can barely talk without a stutter, but she can say that with ease?’** _

_**‘crazy bitch…’** _

The intercom clicked off, leaving Sans, Frisk, and Shyren at the mercy of the monsters in the Core. The skeleton's grip tightened around the human's hand. He was starting to get panicky. The looks of desperate monsters stared at them as the monsters started to walk forward, words like "traitor", "human", and "SOUL" echoing throughout the Core.

Sans backed up from the monsters, his left eye flashing as a device Frisk had never seen before appeared. It looked like a skull and it was on fire in places the skeleton was. The human gasped softly as the skeleton's voice seemed to darken.

"no one is coming near frisk, alright?” his voice continued to become low and dark. “i am not afraid to kill you all to make sure they are safe!" The fires on his body were growing as he turned and started running back to the last fork in the road. Sans kept his grip around Frisk’s hand firm as he ran.

He headed down the only corridor they didn't go down, a large trail of monsters following close behind. He could practically feel one of them breathing down his neck. Sans quickened his pace, but he halted as monsters crawled out from the sides of the bridge leading to the next area.

Monsters he once knew, now doing what they must to survive.

Like animals.

Sans looked behind them at the monsters gathering, turning back to the front. He glanced over to Frisk, grabbing them and pulling them close to him. "it might get a bit HOT, but close your eyes and keep them closed." The human blushed and reluctantly nodded, closing their eyes. Shyren did the same. The skeleton sighed softly and chuckled to himself, "this is going to tire me out to be sure."

Sans shook his skull and concentrated on his magic for a brief moment, keeping a firm arm around the human's chest as he started to walk. Just like Sans said, the temperature in the room around them rose.

As immune to fire as some of the monsters were, only a few of them tried to attack Sans and Frisk. The monsters brave enough barely got within range before catching on fire, screeching in agony as they tried to put out the blood red fire. The others just watched with shocked looks, quickly getting out of the way before they too were burned to a crisp. "just a little farther, then we're there..."

~

Alphys snarled as she watched the monitors, huffing softly, "Completely unless peons!" She hoped that the other monsters would have killed both of them, but…

She smiled as she sat in her chair, watching Sans and Frisk on the monitor. "Well, with the skeleton or not, the human will meet with Asgore soon,” she said as she brought her favorite cup to her mouth and drank more red liquid. “I can't wait." The royal scientist stood up from her chair and started to walk out, heading towards the king's throne room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are some grammar mistakes, I'm sorry. I'm currently posting this on the phone instead of on my computer as usual. ^^"
> 
> Now the sleepy demon needs a nap. Later~


	12. Bad First Meeting

 

Just as Sans thought, he soon got tired and the heat of his fire died down right before they got to the end of the Core. Many of the monsters from before left them alone, afraid of the fire the skeleton was giving off. He was glad about that. But, Sans didn’t want to take a chance and did not stop for a break.

He did not let go of Frisk for even a second. Even as he started to sweat from pushing himself over the limit, stopping was not on his agenda.

Frisk could tell their friend was getting exhausted. And they noticed that the further in they got, the more Sans winced and held his right hand to his flaming eye. _‘Is... it getting bigger?’_ Flames sparked behind the skeleton's hand and seeped out through his finger bones. They hoped that it was nothing serious. They quickly moved Shyren from their hood and held her firmly as the skeleton and the human ran, the spiders holding onto the fluff of Sans' jacket for dear life.

Sans pulled all of them into one of the nearby elevators, clicking one of the buttons and huffing softly. He tried to catch his breath, but the elevator doors opened back up in mere seconds. He let out an annoyed sigh. He didn’t want to leave the minor comfort of the elevator already. Sans just wanted to sit there for a while and sleep, but they were too close to the barrier to stop.

Frisk panted softly as they were quickly pulled out of the elevator. The two of them ran just a little bit more, the human mostly being dragged, before Sans slowed to a stop. To Frisk it looked like they had went in a complete circle with how each floor looked the same. The skeleton had a toothy grin on his face, clearly trying to cover the panic in his actions. He instinctively pressed his back against the nearest wall as leverage and slowly let go of their hand. "alright, little birdie..."

"we're almost home free,” he was still panting as he spoke, each breath sounding wheezy. “just got to get past king assfluff." Sans ruffled Frisk's hair, the fires still high on his body. The human could tell he was struggling to keep his eye sockets open.

"let me rest my eyes for a sec, ok, kid?"

The skeleton slunk down to the ground and huffed again, closing his eye sockets. He pushed his hands into his pockets as he normally did as a habit and felt he was getting too comfortable. He actually didn’t know if he’d pass out, but closing his eye sockets felt nice. And just knowing Frisk was with him gave him comfort. Maybe he could just take a quick cat nap.

Frisk glanced between their friend and the road ahead. They asked Sans if they should just go on ahead, only getting a stern but quiet, “no, just wait until i get my energy back.” Frisk narrowed their eyes at Sans, but they didn’t protest. They instead simply sat beside him with the fish monster on their lap.

Frisk stared down at Shyren for a long minute, thinking of something to preoccupy themselves with. They turned to Sans and asked him about the king. But, they got no word out of him. The only sounds that were coming out of him were shallow, but soft breaths.

_‘He must really be tired.’_

They scooted over slightly and moved Sans’ skull so it was resting on Frisk’s shoulder. They thought it would be better than sleeping with his skull against the wall. As the human did that, they soon felt him put a little of his weight on them. Their face reddened a little. They wanted to say something, but they also didn’t want to wake him up. _‘No, don’t wake him,’_ they told their self. _‘He needs rest after all that…’_

Frisk glanced down as Shyren spoke up, “Are you still curious about what our king is like, Frisk?” They nodded and the fish monster frowned slightly. “Well… he’s not great.” She chuckled nervously as she looked around, as if she were afraid someone was in earshot. Frisk tilted their head and asked why she would say that.

Shyren glanced towards Sans, then back to Frisk. She inhaled sharply. She wished she wasn’t the one to tell the human the first worst action the king did, but it would surely get the point across.

“One example of how he works things here is him killing poor Papyrus,” she said with a matter-of-fact tone. Frisk asked who that was, still confused. ‘What made him significant to this conversation?’ they wondered. Shyren softly whispered the next few words, “He is-- was Sans’ brother.”

Frisk was quiet for a long moment, a look of hurt slowly creeping across their face. Soon, there was a sad frown. Shyren decided to continue, “Well, he indirectly killed him, but he WAS the major influence.” Just in mere seconds, Frisk’s SOUL was starting to ache.

_‘So, this entire time… he was alone?’_

Frisk soon recalled the time they met the skeleton. So cold and distant, and passive-aggressive towards them. They now understood his first impression.

Shyren looked away from Frisk, unbeknownst to her that Sans was silently listening in, slightly awake from the two talking. It was taking him a lot to not speak when she was talking about Papyrus. “That scarf around his neck is the last thing of his brother’s, too,” she said softly as the human’s expression changed to that of remorse. She almost thought that their eyes were becoming glassy.

She patted at Frisk’s arm with her left fin as reassurance. “I’m sorry, human,” Shyren said, sounding both apologetic and cold. “I’m sorry I told you that, but that’s just how King Asgore is.” She sighed once more as she turned from them.

“And that’s just with Sans…”

The more and more they heard and thought, the more they were becoming nervous. Nervous for not just themselves, but for Sans. Even Asgore to a small degree. If they’re going to be nearing the king soon to get to the fabled barrier, and if Sans kept a grudge as they would understand if he did… Frisk hated to think what would happen when they got to the castle.

Frisk thought about it a bit more. The way they saw it, neither of them should hurt each other. But, if the skeleton was in pain about Papyrus, letting him hurt Asgore would seem justified. They inwardly groaned in frustration at the situation.

Why was it difficult for them to think of the moral high ground?

Would Sans even listen to them?

Shyren noticed the human’s concerned look and gave them another nervous smile. “Please understand, I don’t mean for you to concern yourself with this,” she said. “I’m merely telling you this so you know what going to the castle entails.” Frisk sighed and nodded to the fish monster. Sans didn’t give them a REAL reason for them to abandon him. So whatever he decided to do, they’ll be there beside him.

So neither of them are alone.

But, they would definitely try to figure out a way for the two of them to live. They knew Asgore did deserve some sort of punishment, but Sans would be just like the king if he did what he wanted. So even if it hurts Frisk, they’ll keep them both alive.

Frisk was so deep in their thoughts that they nearly jumped when they heard Sans speak. “shy, you don’t need to tell the kid that,” he said slowly as the other two glanced at him, noticing that the fire had lessened greatly. “you’ll end up making them depressed.” He chuckled coldly and opened his eye sockets. Sans was still tired, but it would have to be enough. Since the two talking woke him up, anyway.

Sans slowly moved his head from Frisk’s shoulder and stood up as he sleepily glanced towards the next part of the area. Not too far from the barrier now. He glanced back towards the human and extended his hand. “need help?” he asked as he grinned at them, waiting as Frisk slowly took it. Sans pulled them up to their feet and looped an arm around their shoulders while they held Shyren within their arms.

“next stop is king assfluff’s throne room, little birdie.”

Sans laughed softly to himself and soon he heard Frisk laugh at the king’s nickname, turning his head to the front as the two of them walked. He didn’t want to use what magic he regained back teleporting to the throne room. So, he decided to take the last few elevators that would take them to Asgore, starting with the one just down the hall.

The skeleton lead Frisk towards the elevator that lead up to the king’s castle, but he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the elevators open. A familiar yellow figure stepped out and glanced around, before its eyes stopped at Sans and Frisk. Shyren cowered and trembled lightly. “Ahhh, I th-thought you would’ve b-been killed by now, traitor,” she said, her stuttering already pissing Sans off. When she smiled wide at the two, showing her red-stained sharp teeth, the skeleton slightly tightened his hold on Frisk without realizing it.

He smirked at Alphys and shrugged with his free arm. “i guess you need to try harder to KRILL me,” Sans softly mumbled. “got any FIN better than a few ferals?” Alphys flinched at the puns, thinking that he clearly wanted to strike that nerve in her like he always did.

The atmosphere around the two were starting to make Frisk and the fish monster uncomfortable, and it felt like it was getting more intense by the second.

The royal scientist glared at Sans and sighed with frustration as she adjusted her glasses. She had to be careful with what she said. There wasn’t any guards until they got to the throne room, and that was still a ways from where they were. “Will you pl-please just get in t-the elevator and not waste any-anymore time?” Alphys asked in a stern tone as Sans’ sharp smile widened. She hated that damn smile of his. But, he shouldn’t be smiling for too long.

“sure, pal,” Sans said in a more comical manner, though it sounded cold. “we need to head up anyway.” Frisk managed a slight nod as Alphys sighed again. She turned and stepped inside the elevator again as the skeleton and the human walked in after her. She noticed that Sans was keeping himself between her and Frisk, like she was going to do something.

The nerve.

Alphys quickly pushed the up button when all three of them were situated, trying desperately not to do something to Sans or the human. She wondered about using the human to get the skeleton to bend to her will. But, she decided against it, since the three were in such a confined space. That and Sans using his magic in that small a space would be dangerous.

The elevator halted to a stop and opened up for the three as Alphys poked her head out to see if anyone was around. As she was looking, Sans and Frisk walked out and turned to the left. Frisk’s eyes landed on the CHECKPOINT as the skeleton’s landed towards the entrance to the room after this. “looks as barren as i remember it,” he whispered as he started walking again as Alphys was starting to tell him something.

“I have to s-say, I doubt you bo-both will make it ou-out,” she mumbled as she grinned to herself. “If you gi-give the human to-to Asgore now, he might for-forgive you, Sans.” Sans paused as they past by the star, narrowing his eye sockets.

That was the first time in so many years that she called him his name. And quite frankly, he didn’t like it. “nah, he’s not gonna have my frisk,” he said with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice as Frisk glanced at him with a reddened face. “he’ll have to find another human, or just wait until we get some SOULs.”

_**‘he’d be dead where he stood if he tries otherwise.’** _

The royal scientist blinked a few times at the skeleton’s answer. Here she was telling him he had a chance to redeem himself, yet he was throwing it away for a human. A HUMAN. “You… really are a fool…” she whispered as she huffed and watched as the skeleton took Frisk and Shyren from her view. She shook her head and turned back to the elevator, walking in and heading back down. “Useless fool…”

~

Sans had used the next elevator to quicken their journey. He didn’t feel like taking the long road and walking through the king’s home. Not that he didn’t like nosing through things, he just didn’t care what kind of stuff was there to begin with. No use to understand madness when nothing will help it, right?

The three ended up in the room Sans was familiar with: a long hallway with tall windows and the sun, or what shined like the sun, spilling out from the glass. All things considered, it was a beautiful room. It was one of the only few rooms he liked in the castle.

Though, the name made it a bit more ominous.

“well, passed this area will be the throne room,” the skeleton whispered, seeming to be directed at no one in particular. “nervous?” He looked over to Frisk and noticed them breathing fast as their SOUL started to beat harshly. ‘so, they are nervous…’ Sans thought to himself. He smiled at them and ruffled their hair, kind of finding them scared to be cute. “i promise i won’t let him hurt cha, ‘kay, little birdie?” he said as Frisk turned to him.

Their eyes were a little dark, but after seeing the skeleton’s smile, they nodded and smiled back. They told him that he better as they continued to admire the room. Frisk’s head perked up as Sans spoke up again, “know what this room’s called?” They shook their head at his question.

The smile fell for only a moment, but it returned. “called JUDGEMENT HALL, a place where both monsters and humans were judged by their actions and were given a punishment based on sins they’ve committed,” he said as he watched them closely. “it’s tradition.”

“but, no one seems to be here to judge you.”

“...guess i gotta do it.”

Sans slowly moved so Frisk was out of his grasp as he stepped some feet in front of them, before turning to face them. His gaze fell to Shyren as he made a “move” hand gesture. She nervously nodded and wiggled out of the human’s hold as she planted herself to the side under one of the windows.

Shyren didn’t think this judgement would be necessary since this might be the last time they’d be here. But, she didn’t want to question him and risk getting him annoyed, so she stayed silent.

Frisk blinked and Sans grinned wider. “ok, here goes nothing, kiddo,” he said as he took a deep breath, then looked at the state of them. Just like looking at the stats of a character from a game. He chuckled at the weird thought as he examined everything, from their weak HP to LV.

Frisk’s level of violence was reasonable, especially compared to his. And he felt no malicious intent behind their LV. “so… you’re actually kind puny, huh?” he said with a soft chuckle. “but, despite that, you actually held your own.” Even with the dying part. He would have thought that Frisk would’ve killed after being killed multiple times, but they didn’t.

This human was so strange…

He decided to move on, “with how many times you were hurt, you didn’t even think to hurt the person back, even with how many chances you got.”

Sans grew silent. He wondered why… how this human didn’t do what he would have done: kill those that threatened him. Those that hurt or killed someone he cared for. Thinking about that made his train of thought stray from the original track. The skeleton caught himself thinking about Papyrus and what happened to him that day. _**‘stop, brain,’**_ he thought to himself. _**‘that’s not going to happen today.’**_

He shook his head before his usual smile returned. The kid was determined to keep going, so he would have to be determined to keep them alive and safe. To keep that last bit of sunshine he found down in this hell safe.

“you’re too nice for your own good, i hope you know that…”

Sans laughed again as he walked back to Frisk, wrapping an arm around their shoulders again. It was comforting for both of them. To be that close to each other. The fish monster started to float back to the two, but the skeleton halted her. “shy, please stay here,” he said softly. “i don’t want you hurt in case something goes to shit.” “B-but…” The look on Sans’ face made her thoughts trail off. He was serious. She pouted, but didn’t continue her protest.

“Al-alright, but you’ll come get m-me if you need me, ri-right?”

The skeleton nodded and smiled once more, finally walking again and taking his human to the throne room. Shyren retreated back under one of the windows. If she stayed low, she would be hard to spot. ‘Try not to let him get you, Sans…’ the fish monster thought to herself as the two finally disappeared from view.

~

What… happened?

Frisk’s eyes widened at the state of the two monsters. Asgore looked like he was hurt, but not as much as Sans. They were surprised he was still able to stand after taking an attack like that. But, he was in bad shape and his leg bones were shaking, like they were struggling to support him. “heh... he was… holding back before…” Sans slowly exhaled out as he finally fell to his knees, a part of his face already fading into ash.

The human gasped at the sight and bit at their bottom lip. They knew what would happen next if they didn’t do anything as they remembered about the goat woman from long before. They couldn’t let anyone else to go like that, but how would they fix this?

Frisk felt a tug at their SOUL and soon the weight of the knife in their pocket grew, telling them that it was there. They glanced down at the area where the knife was as a thought crossed their mind. They unzipped their jacket and took out the unused kitchen knife from the inside pocket as they got a confused looked from both Sans and Asgore. “li-little birdie?” Sans slowly whispered. “what a-are you, doi-doing?”

He didn’t get a verbal answer as the human glanced over at him and smiled warmly. Then before Sans could react, Frisk quickly plunged the knife directly into their SOUL to shatter it themselves. Both Sans’ and Asgore’s eyes widened at the action as a trail of red was slowly staining their gray shirt.

“ki-kid, why’d ya…” was all the skeleton could get out before Frisk fell to the ground. With eye sockets wide, Sans tried to stand and walk over to the human. But with dead weight kicking in, he was just struggling to be on his knees. Soon, his vision was clouding up as reached for Frisk and heard Asgore laugh to himself in an odd way. Sans growled softly and willed his body to move to the human, managing a couple of inches.

The human’s figure warped within his vision as his body finally gave up.

And then, there was nothing but black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am truly sorry this one took too long. Writer's block can be annoying, can it? But, at last, here is chapter 12. ^^ Hopefully the next one won't take as long.

**Author's Note:**

> I had made the mistake of putting this one DeviantArt about two years ago (a decent place for art, but not for the "art" I make anyway lol), so I thought this short snippet of an AU here.
> 
> ...Yeah I got nothing, so... Later. *nervously teleports away*


End file.
